The Editors were alerted in November 2022 that a reader had expressed concerns regarding elements of Figures 3 and 4 of Molecular Human Reproduction, Volume 11, Issue 3, 1st March 2004, Pages 211–221, https://doi.org/10.1093/molehr/gah154.
The allegations are summarised below.
Figure 3 (upper western blot):
• The band patterns in lanes 1–4 are similar in appearance to those in lanes 5–8.
The Editors investigated, analysing the images carefully and agreeing with the reader that the bands in question seemed to have unusual levels of similarity. They then attempted to contact the authors. Although the Principal Investigator passed away in 2012, a senior author was able to confirm that the original western blots and films, as well as the related analysis, are no longer accessible due to a laboratory move several years ago. However, the author drew the Editors’ attention to a figure presented at a conference (Liguori et al., 2004) that included a blot from a repeated (identical) experiment (Figure 1), thus confirming the validity of the data presented in Figure 3.
Figure from conference abstract (left) and figure from MHR article (right).
Figure 4 (lower Western blots; bottom panels, b):
• The band patterns in the two lanes shown in the panel on the left are similar in appearance to those of the two lanes in the panel shown on the right.
Again, the Editors investigated, analysing the images carefully using densitometric analysis and ultimately concluding that the band patterns exhibit clear differences in their pixel densities.
Even without the original western blots and films related to Figure 3, the Editors are satisfied that the results and overall conclusions of the original work have not changed.
