RETRACTION: Kruppel-Like Factor 4 Improves Obesity-related Nephropathy Through Increasing Mitochondrial Biogenesis...

L. Jin, H. Ye, M. Pan, Y. Chen, B. Ye, Y. Zheng, W. Huang, S. Pan, Z. Shi, and J. Zhang, "Kruppel-Like Factor 4 Improves Obesity-related Nephropathy Through Increasing Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Activities," Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 24, no. 2 (2019): 1200-1207, https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.14628. The above article, published online on 4 December 2019 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Stefan N. Constantinescu; the Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties. Specifically, image elements in Figure 3C were found to have been previously published by a different author group in a different scientific context. Further investigation by the publisher identified undeclared splicing sites in the IκB blot in Figure 2F and in the α-porin blot in Figure 4c. Finally, the tubulin blot in Figure 4c was also found to have been previously published by a different author group in a different scientific context. The first author stated that the overlap of data with a previous publication lacking shared authorship was due to data theft from their laboratory. However, no further clarification or supporting raw data was provided for the remaining concerns. As a result, the article has been retracted as the editors have lost confidence in the integrity and reliability of the whole body of data and consider the article's conclusions invalid.