Endocrinology researcher in South Korea scores four retractions in a year

Hueng-Sik Choi, a researcher at Chonnam National University in Gwangju in South Korea, is up to four retractions for image manipulation.

The latest retraction for Choi, for a 2006 paper titled “Orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 induces zinc finger protein GIOT-1 gene expression, and GIOT-1 acts as a novel corepressor of orphan nuclear receptor SF-1 via recruitment of HDAC2,” appeared in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) earlier this month:

This article has been withdrawn by the authors. The actin panels for siHDAC2-I and siHDAC2-IV in Fig. 7E were duplicated. Additionally, in Fig. 7E, a portion of the HDAC2 gel from siHDAC2-II was duplicated in siHDAC2-III and siHDAC2-IV.

The retraction came a year after comments about Fig. 7E appeared on PubPeer. The original paper has been cited 19 times, according to Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science.

Choi’s first retraction was published on Dec. 19, 2018, in Nucleic Acids Research, for “An autoregulatory loop controlling orphan nuclear receptor DAX-1 gene expression by orphan nuclear receptor ERRγ.” The journal published a correction of the paper on Dec. 14, 2018, but apparently changed its mind quite quickly, retracting it five days later:

This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors following evidence of data duplication. Specifically, the two panels in Figure 3B are identical after level/contrast/brightness adjustments and a band has been pasted in lane 5 of the left panel. A corrigendum was recently published for the same article (1) to disclose duplication of panels in Figure 5D. The Authors and Editors no longer have confidence in the data and are jointly publishing this Retraction notice to alert readers that the article contains flawed data and the findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. The matter has been reported to the relevant authorities at the institution for investigation.

The Corresponding Author takes full responsibility for a failure to follow proper quality control over the production, validation and dissemination of that data. All Authors agree with the retraction and the information provided in this notice.

As in the most recent case, the correction and retraction appeared after comments popped up on PubPeer.

That retraction was followed by one in Molecules and Cells on Dec. 31, 2018 — also coming after comments on PubPeer — and another in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications on June 22, 2019 — ditto comments on PubPeer.

Choi has not responded to a request for comment.

Like Retraction Watch? You can make a tax-deductible contribution to support our work, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, add us to your RSS reader, or subscribe to our daily digest. If you find a retraction that’s not in our database, you can let us know here. For comments or feedback, email us at [email protected].