The above-cited article has been retracted by the American Diabetes Association, the publisher of Diabetes. This article was previously the subject of an expression of concern in the March 2015 issue of the journal (Diabetes 2015;64:1068–1070. DOI: 10.2337/db15-ec03).
As noted in the March 2015 expression of concern, the American Diabetes Association asked the corresponding author’s institution, the University of Campinas, to review the following issues with the article:
The pY immunoblot images in Figs. 2C and 3C appear to be the same.
The PI3K immunoblot images in Fig. 3A and C appear to be the same. Lanes 1 and 2 in Fig. 3B appear to be the same as lanes 3 and 2, respectively, in Fig. 5A.
According to the university commission, the corresponding author of this article admitted that the pY images in Figs. 2C and 3C are duplicates, that the PI3K images in Fig. 3A and C are duplicates, and that lanes 1 and 2 in Fig. 3B are the same as lanes 3 and 2, respectively, in Fig. 5A. The university commission, therefore, recommended that the article should be retracted.
It should be noted that the Association’s Panel on Ethical Scientific Programs (ESP) was subsequently informed by readers of the journal of an additional concern involving this article. The investigative commission appointed by the University of Campinas did not identify or address this additional concern in its investigative report:
In Fig. 6F, lanes 2–5 of the IP:IR/IB:pY strip (bottom) appear to have been previously published in the following 2006 FEBS Letters article:
Prada et al. FEBS Lett 2006;580:4889–4894. DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2006.08.004. PMID: 16919274 (Fig. 4I, lanes 2, 3, 1, and 4, respectively)
This image appears to have been republished, with adjustments to size, orientation, brightness, and contrast, in the following articles:
Ropelle et al. Endocrinology 2007;148:5220–5229. DOI: 10.1210/en.2007-0381. PMID: 17717055 (Fig. 2B, total AMPK)
Ropelle et al. PLoS ONE 2008;3:e3856. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003856. PMID: 19052642 (Fig. 2G, IB:JAK2, and Fig. 2H, IB:STAT3)
Ropelle et al. Diabetes 2008;57:594–605. DOI: 10.2337/db07-0573. PMID: 18057094 (Fig. 3B, total p70S6K)
Ropelle et al. J Physiol 2009;587(Pt. 9):2069–2076. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.164202. PMID: 19273580 (Fig. 2C, IB:α-tubulin)
Flores et al. Gastroenterology 2012;143:741–753.e1–e4. DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2012.05.045. PMID: 22677195 (Fig. 1D, IB:IKKβ, and Fig. 2D, IB:IRβ)
Calisto et al. Crit Care 2012;16:R158. DOI: 10.1186/cc11478. PMID: 22897821 (Fig. 4B, IB:IR, lanes 2–5)
The ESP concluded that this additional concern raises further doubt about the reliability of the data presented in the study and substantiates the need, as the University of Campinas recommended, to retract this article. The American Diabetes Association, the publisher of Diabetes, approved the Panel’s conclusion.
Diabetes is a member journal of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (publicationethics.org). As such, the editors of the journal and the ESP refer to COPE’s guidelines and recommendations when reviewing such matters.
