Retraction: Oxymatrine exerts anti-fibrotic effects in a rat model of hepatic fibrosis by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress

The following article has been retracted at the request of the Editor and Publisher:

Liu X, Wang D, Yang W, Wu X. Oxymatrine exerts anti-fibrotic effects in a rat model of hepatic fibrosis by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress. J Int Med Res. 2020; 48(10). doi:10.1177/0300060520961681

Sage was made aware of a PubPeer post discussing the figures in this article. The concerns raised were:

In Figure 5(a), the FITC-A analysis appears to be similar to the FITC-A analysis in Figure 1(c) of a previously published article ¹ by a different group of authors.

In Figure 5(c), the western blot panel for Calpain 2, CHOP, GRP78, Serca2 and β-actin appears to be similar to the western blot panel for Calpain 2, CHOP, GRP78, Serca2 and β-actin in Figure 2(c) of the previously published article ¹ by a different group of authors.

When contacted for comments, the corresponding author recognized the unattributed use of the figures.

Due to the nature of the concerns that call into question the validity of the findings, the Journal Editor retracts the article.

Authors agreed with the retraction.