Cai Q, Wang X, Wang S, et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2020;15:253–262.

The Editor and Publisher of International Journal of Nanomedicine wish to retract the published article. Following the authors request to make corrections an investigation found several images within Figure 5 appeared to have been duplicated. In addition, images within Figure 5 were also found to have been duplicated with images from Figure 8 in Cai Q, Wang S, Jin L, et al. Long non-coding RNA GBCDRlnc1 induces chemoresistance of gallbladder cancer cells by activating autophagy. Mol Cancer. 18, 82 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-019-1016-0. Specifically,

Figure 5, p62, NIR, appears to have been duplicated with the same image for Figure 5, p62, Dox+NIR. Figure 5, PCNA, Dox+NIR, appears to have been duplicated with the same image for Figure 5, PCNA, CQ+Dox+NIR. Figure 5, Ki-67, Dox, appears to have been duplicated with the same image for Figure 5, Ki-67, CQ-Dox. Figure 5, p62, CQ, appears to have been duplicated with the same image for Figure 8, p62, GBC-SD/Dox Lv-shRNA+Dox from Cai et al, 2019. Figure 5, p62, Dox, appears to have been duplicated with the same image for Figure 8, p62, GBC-SD/Dox Lv-control+Dox from Cai et al, 2019. Figure 5, p62, CQ+Dox, appears to have been duplicated with the same image for Figure 8, ATG5, GBC-SD/Dox Lv-control+Dox from Cai et al, 2019.

The authors cooperated with the investigation and provided data associated with the study. However, despite the authors’ assistance, it was still not clear how the images came to be duplicated, and, as we cannot verify the validity of the published work, we are therefore retracting the article and the authors were notified of this.

We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.

The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.