This article “Lead induces the up-regulation of the protein arginine methyltransferase 5 possibly by its promoter demethylation” DOI: 10.1042/BCJ20180009 Ghosh et al., Biochem. J. 475 (16): 2653–2666 (2018) is being retracted from the Biochemical Journal at the request of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board. This follows receipt of a notification from a reader, alerting the Editorial Board to features in the background of Figure 3B A549 Western blot that may indicate splicing, and separately similarities in the background details between Figure 4B set 1 A549 and Mcf.-7 gels. Additionally, the Editorial Office identified similarities between Figure 4B Set 1 A549 UC and MC bands.
The authors were contacted regarding the concerns and provided original data for Figures 3B and 4B. The Editorial Office identified signs of digital editing in the background details of the provided images. The author’s responses or the raw data did not fully resolve the concerns raised. Therefore, the journal no longer has confidence in the reliability or validity of the results presented in this paper. The authors have been contacted with regards to the retraction but have not responded. Given the extent of the issues raised, the Editorial Board stand by the decision to retract the article.
