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Int J Mol Med 41, [Related article:] 3485-3492, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2018.3531

Following the publication of the above paper, a concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that several figures contained data that bore striking similarities to data published in other papers; notably, the western blot data shown in Fig. 6 appeared to have been presented in other studies, notably in Fig. 7B of another paper published around the same time and written by different authors based at different research institutions [Li P, Zhang Z, Zhang F, Zhou H and Sun W: Effects of 3-tetrazolyl methyl-3-hydroxy-oxindole hybrid (THOH) on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and G2/M cell cycle arrest occurs by targeting platelet-derived growth factor D (PDGF-D) and the MEK/ERK signaling pathway in human lung cell lines SK-LU-1, A549, and A-427. Med Sci Monit 24: 4547-4554, 2018]. Furthermore, cellular images featured in Fig. 2A and B of the above paper appeared in Fig. 2 of the following paper, albeit the data were presented in a different field of view: Yu L, Zhou G-Q and Li D-C: MiR-136 triggers apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells by targeting AEG-1 and BCL2. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 22: 7251-7256, 2018.

After having conducted an independent investigation in the Editorial Office, the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine has determined that this article should be retracted from the Journal on account of a lack of confidence concerning the originality and the authenticity of the data. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office never received any reply. The Editor regrets any inconvenience that has been caused to the readership of the Journal.