RETRACTION: to “Oleanolic Acid Reduces Oxidative Stress and Neuronal Apoptosis After Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage by Regulating Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway”

Abstract

Han, Y., C. Wang, X. Li, and G. Liang. 2022. “Oleanolic Acid Reduces Oxidative Stress and Neuronal Apoptosis After Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage by Regulating Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway.” Drug Development Research 83, no. 3: 680–687. https://doi.org/10.1002/ddr.21899.

The above article, published online on November 24, 2021 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Il Jeon; and Wiley Periodicals LLC. A third party reported that this article had re-used western blot bands between Figure 4A in this article and another article by some of the same authors (Han et al. 2017 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173811]). The report also found that this article had duplicated all TUNEL staining images in Figure 4D from that same publication. The authors responded to an inquiry by the publisher, provided what was labeled as original data for the western blots in Figure 4A, and stated that the two studies had been conducted simultaneously and that the images had been mistakenly reused. The authors also claimed that the results of the TUNEL staining experiments were consistent between both studies, but they did not supply original data for the TUNEL staining experiments. Lastly, the authors reported that they had re-performed some experiments.

An investigation by the publisher and the journal determined that the duplicated western blots showed discrepancies in contrast and included the removal of one band shown in the prior publication. The authors' response also raised concerns over the data integrity practices employed by the authors. As such, the retraction has been agreed on because the evidence of image duplication and concerns over the experimental design and data integrity fundamentally compromise the parties' confidence in the results presented in the article. The authors did not respond to our notice regarding the retraction.