RETRACTION: Connexin 43 Gap Junctions Contribute to Brain Endothelial Barrier Hyperpermeability in Familial Cerebral...

A. M. Johnson, J. P. Roach, A. Hu, S. M. Stamatovic, M. R. Zochowski, R. F. Keep, A. V. Andjelkovic, "Connexin 43 Gap Junctions Contribute to Brain Endothelial Barrier Hyperpermeability in Familial Cerebral Cavernous Malformations Type III by Modulating Tight Junction Structure," The FASEB Journal 32, no. 5 (2018): 2615-2629, https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201700699r. The above article, published online on 2 January 2018 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Loren E. Wold; the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology; and Wiley Periodicals, LLC. The journal received concerns by a third-party regarding Figure 2A. Specifically, Figure 2A included apparent image reuse, relabeling, and misidentification of the identity of the protein probed in immunoblots, which has a subsequent impact on the reliability of quantification of protein lysates. Further investigation by the journal led to concerns of splicing in Supplemental Figure 1C. While the authors were able to provide the intact raw data for the supplemental immunoblot, the concerns regarding Figure 2A were not resolved. The retraction has been agreed to because of the evidence of image and data manipulation in Figure 2A fundamentally compromises the editors' confidence in the conclusions presented. The corresponding author, Anuska V. Andjelkovic, disagrees with the retraction and stated that the original data are available at a public data repository, the link to which is available by request to the authors. All other authors did not respond when informed of the retraction.