RETRACTION: Pentoxifylline Prevents Epileptic Seizure via Modulating HMGB1/RAGE/TLR4 Signalling Pathway and Improves Memory in Pentylenetetrazol Kindling Rats

Abstract

RETRACTION: G. A. Badawi, M. M. Shokr, H. F. Zaki and A. F. Mohamed, “ Pentoxifylline Prevents Epileptic Seizure via Modulating HMGB1/RAGE/TLR4 Signalling Pathway and Improves Memory in Pentylenetetrazol Kindling Rats,” Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 48, no. 8 (2021): 1111–1124, https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1681.13508.

The above article, published online on 26 April 2021 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Yang Yang; and John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd. The retraction has been agreed following concerns raised by a third party regarding evidence of splicing of western blot bands presented in Figures 4 and 7. Following an investigation, further concerns were uncovered regarding duplication between the ‘phenytoin + PTZ’ and ‘PTX + PTZ’ bands within the HMGB1 lane in Figure 4B1 and the TLR4 lane in Figure 4C1. Additionally, the ‘HMGB1’ and ‘TLR4’ lanes across Figures 4B1 and 4C1 appear duplicated and resized with respect to each other.

The authors provided some raw data and explained that the bands in Figures 4B1, 4C1, 7A1, 7B1 and 7C1 were spliced and rearranged in order to simplify the data and maintain consistency with other results. The authors also provided an explanation for the duplicates observed within and across Figures 4B1 and 4C1. The editors were not satisfied with the explanation or raw data provided and consider the editing applied to the western blots to be inappropriate. Due to the extent and nature of the concerns, the editors have lost confidence in the results and conclusions presented in this article. The authors were informed of the retraction.