An investigation at Taipei Medical University found that an author made “serious mistakes” when preparing a manuscript.
The journal prompted the university to investigate the paper, which looks at the role of a protein in repairing arteries after an injury.
The retraction notice explains:
It was brought to our attention that several of the figure panels in the above article, published in 2008 by Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, appear to contain possible instances of questionable manipulation. Specifically, the bottom control panel of Figure 2A has very similar parts to the bottom panel of DDR2 siRNA. Upon request, the institution, Taipei Medical University, conducted an investigation and found that the corresponding author, Dr Hang Chang, committed serious mistakes in manuscript preparation and raised ethical concerns. Therefore, in accordance with the AHA’s ethical policy, the editors, therefore, hereby retract the article.
“RNA interference for discoidin domain receptor 2 attenuates neointimal formation in balloon injured rat carotid artery” has been cited 15 times since it was published in 2008, according to Thomson Reuters Web of Science.
Here’s the figure in question:
We contacted the editor in chief of the journal to ask how the issue came to light, and if there were more papers included in the investigation. A spokesperson for the American Heart Association, which publishes the journal, declined to comment.
We reached out to Chang, to first author Kou-Gi Shyu (also at Taipei), and to the university.
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