With the agreement of the Editor-in-Chief, the editorial board and the publisher Bioscientifica Ltd, the Journal of Endocrinology is publishing an Expression of Concern regarding an article that appeared in the journal in 2005, in volume 186 part 1, pages 193–201. The journal was alerted to the potential manipulation of Western blots in the figures outlined below. After investigation by journal staff, experts in the field and consultation with the authors, we could not rule out the possibility that the Western blots had been manipulated.
The similarity of the Western blots raises questions about the reliability of some of the data in the article. Repetition of experiments was proposed by the authors; however, the potential delay caused by this was deemed unacceptable by the Editor-in-Chief and the publisher.
The Editor-in-Chief and the publisher considered this issue carefully before agreeing that publication of an Expression of Concern was necessary. The journal has asked the corresponding authors’ institution to investigate this case:
Pereira-da-Silva M, De Souza CT, Gasparetti AL, Saad MJA & Velloso LA 2005 Melanin-concentrating hormone induces insulin resistance through a mechanism independent of body weight gain. Journal of Endocrinology 186 193–201. (doi:10.1677/joe.1.06111)
It appears that within Figure 4, the same lane has been used for the ‘without insulin’ result within bands 2, 3, 5 and 7, even though they represent different conditions.
Furthermore, it appears Figure 6 contains multiple immunoblots spliced together.
