Abstract
At the request of the journal Editor and Sage the following article has been retracted:
Campo GM, Avenoso A, Campo S, et al. Purified human plasma glycosaminoglycans reduced NF-κB activation, pro-inflammatory cytokine production and apoptosis in LPS-treated chondrocytes. Innate Immunity. 2008;14(4):233–246. doi:10.1177/1753425908094725
Sage was alerted to a discussion surrounding the article on PubPeer.
Following an internal investigation, several concerns have been raised about multiple images in the article:
1. Figure 1 appears to contain duplication across images CTRL and CTRL + P-GAG 2.0 mg/ml; LPS + P-GAG 0.5 mg/ml and LPS + P-GAG 1.0 mg/ml; LPS and LPS + P-GAG 2.0 mg/ml
2. Figures 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B appear to have overlapping features across figures and lanes.
3. Figures 2B, 3B, 4B have background irregularities that could indicate potential background correction, and appear to have duplicate bands across figures.
4. Figure 5B: potential splicing between lanes 2 and 3, 5 and 6.
5. Figure 6B: potential splicing between lanes 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 4 and 5, 5 and 6.
6. Figure 7B: potential splicing between lanes 3 and 4, 4 and 5, 5 and 6.
The authors provided some images representing findings underlying these figure panels, and some data underlying the graphs. Sage and the Journal Editor assessed these materials and determined that they do not resolve the concerns raised.
Due to the nature of the original concern, lack of appropriate raw images or data to resolve the concerns raised, the Journal Editor believes there are outstanding questions about the validity of the findings and retracts this article.
The authors did not agree with the retraction.