Mol Med Rep 6: [Related article:] 996–1000, 2012; DOI:
10.3892/mmr.2012.1021
Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn
to the Editors’ attention by a concerned reader that, in comparing
the agarose gels featured in Figs. 1 and 2 on p. 998, two pairs of
lanes for the TNF-α data featured for the ‘on day 14/on day 35’ and
‘on day 21/on day 56’ experiments were strikingly similar, although
the lanes were featured in reverse orientations relative to each
other. Furthermore, MMP-2 protein bands featured in Fig. 2 in the
‘E’ and ‘C’ lanes of the ‘on day 56’ experiments were also
strikingly similar in appearance. Finally, concerning the
immunofluorescence experiments shown in Figs. 3 and 4, one pair of
data panels in each of the figures was found to be overlapping, and
moreover, some of the same data panels also appeared in a figure in
another paper written by the same research group that was published
in the journal Gastroenterology Research and Practice at
around the same time.
In view of the apparent anomalies associated with the
data in Figs. 1 and 2, and the re-use of certain of the data in
Figs. 3 and 4, the Editor of Molecular Medicine Reports has
decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal on the
grounds of a lack of confidence in the presented data. The authors
were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but
the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes
to the readership for any inconvenience caused.
