RETRACTION: Tumorigenic Study on Hepatocytes Coexpressing SV40 With Ras

B. Sun, M. Chen, C. Hawks, P. J. Hornsby, and X. Wang, "Tumorigenic Study on Hepatocytes Coexpressing SV40 With Ras," Molecular Carcinogenesis 45 no. 4 (2006): 213-219, https://doi.org/10.1002/mc.20137. The above article, published online on 19 September 2005 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) has been retracted by agreement between the authors; the journal Editor-in-Chief; and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The authors identified a significant discrepancy between the legend of Figure 3 and its corresponding description in the Results section. Specifically, the figure legend cites the use of "HCA2 cells," whereas the Results section explicitly describes experiments conducted with "human hepatocyte lines HL-7702 and HL-7703." To resolve this discrepancy and validate the critical findings, the authors attempted to replicate the experiments using the original HL-7702/HL-7703 cell systems. However, two irremediable constraints precluded verification: First, the extended time interval of nearly two decades since publication had rendered the original biological materials nonviable due to natural degradation. Second, essential plasmid constructs required for experimental replication were permanently lost during multiple laboratory relocations over this period. Consequently, the core conclusions remain experimentally unverifiable. Given that the figure-result contradiction cannot be resolved through standard correction measures and considering the irretrievable inability to replicate the study's key outcomes, we conclude that the continued availability of this paper irreparably compromises the validity of the study's conclusions and risks perpetuating misleading information. Therefore, the article must be retracted.