PPM1A Functions as a Smad Phosphatase to Terminate TGFβ Signaling

Cell 125, 915–928; June 2, 2006 Yao-Yun Liang of the above article informed us, the Cell editors, that he manipulated the experiments to achieve predetermined results in Figures 2F, 2H, and 3G. The corresponding author of the paper, Xin-Hua Feng, has refuted the validity of Liang’s claims, citing concerns about Liang’smotives and credibility. In a continuing process, we have consultedwith the authors, the corresponding author’s institution, and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and we have evaluated the available original data. The Committee on Scientific Integrity at the corresponding author’s institution, Baylor College of Medicine, conducted a preliminary inquiry that was inconclusive and recommended no further action. As the institution’s inquiry was inconclusive and it has been difficult to adjudicate the conflicting claims, we have provided the corresponding author an opportunity to arrange repetition of the experiments in question by independent labs. These experiments are currently underway. This statement is to alert the community to the concerns about the data and to our ongoing process. We will provide an update when the process is concluded.