EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: Dose-Dependent Biphasic Leptin-Induced Proliferation is Caused by Non-Specific IL-6/NF-κB Pathway Activation in Human Myometrial Cells

Abstract

EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: M. Barrichon, T. Hadi, M. Wendremaire, C. Ptasinski, R. Seigneuric, G. Marcion, M. Delignette, J. Marchet, M. Dumas, P. Sagot, M. Bardou, C. Garrido and F. Liruss, “Dose-Dependent Biphasic Leptin-Induced Proliferation is Caused by Non-Specific IL-6/NF-κB Pathway Activation in Human Myometrial Cells,” British Journal of Pharmacology 172, no. 12 (2015): 2974–2990, https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.13100.

This Expression of Concern is for the above article, published online on 05 February 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), and has been issued by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Péter Ferdinandy; the British Pharmacological Society; and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. The Expression of Concern has been agreed following an investigation based on concerns raised by a third party. The investigation revealed duplication between the P-STAT3 bands presented in the two western blots in Figure S2A. The two blots represent different conditions. Furthermore, the control bands representing NF-κB at 4 minutes and 50 minutes in Figure 8A originate from a different gel than the other bands in the figure. The western blot was not delineated to indicate the splice sites. The authors provided an explanation and some raw data. However, this was not considered satisfactory to remove doubt. Therefore, the journal has decided to issue an Expression of Concern to inform and alert the readers.