Abstract
Following the publication of the above paper, a concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that, within the left‑hand and centre data panels of Fig. 6 on p. 5735, apparent anomalies were identifiable, including unexpectedly similar‑looking cells and repeated patternings of these cells in terms of their layout/arrangement, albeit with inversions of the cells in certain cases. In addition, it was noted that some of the data featured in Table I and in Fig. 4B were strikingly similar to data that had previously appeared in a paper published in the journal Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics that was written by different authors at different research institutes. After having conducted an independent investigation of this paper in the Editorial Office, the Editor of Molecular Medicine Reports has determined that it should be retracted from the Journal on account of a lack of confidence in the authenticity of the data. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor regrets any inconvenience that has been caused to the readership of the Journal. [Molecular Medicine Reports 12: 5730‑5736, 2015; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2015.4169].