Scientific Study on Gene Regulation Retracted After Data Flaws Found

Editors have officially retracted a scientific study originally published in July 2014 that focused on gene regulation in CCR5 mRNA. The decision was made because the editors no longer have confidence in the data supporting a key conclusion of the research.

Findings

Further investigation showed that a sequence used in the study contained a hidden site that created unintended splice variants. When the authors tested their work using an updated reporter vector, the CCR5-derived sequence did not show the frameshifting activity that was reported in the original paper. At least two other groups also replicated these findings, confirming that the earlier results came from a splicing error.

Reactions

Four authors, including Ashton Trey Belew, Sharmishtha Musalgaonkar, Vivek M. Advani, and Sergey O. Sulima, agree with the retraction. However, four other authors, including Arturas Meskauskas, Wojciech K. Kasprzak, Bruce A. Shapiro, and Jonathan D. Dinman, disagree with the decision to retract the work.

Context

Retractions are a standard way for scientific journals to correct the scientific record when subsequent testing or analysis reveals that published data cannot be trusted. Scientific findings rely heavily on replication and independent testing to ensure that initial discoveries hold up over time.