Retracted Article: Chrysin attenuates myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury by inhibiting myocardial inflammation
Authors: Hao Tang
Yang Yang
Nan Xun
Jingguo Wu
Wen Yang
Zhenyu Li
Lijin Zeng
Yanbing Liang
Zhongfu Ma
Journal: RSC Advances (2018)
Discipline: CHEMISTRY
Keywords: chrysin; myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury; cytokines; ST segment; Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC)
Affiliations: Department of General Internal Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China, Department of Endocrinology, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

Abstract:  The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chrysin (CH) on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Cytokines were reduced by CH in coronary artery occlusion-induced rats and also in H9C2 cells. The ST segment was also restored by CH. Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and pathological analysis showed that CH could alleviate myocardial injury. Results in H9C2 cells showed that CH improved heart injury in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) of H9C2 cells. In addition, the expressions of the HMGB1-related inflammation pathway in rats and H9C2 cells were significantly decreased by CH. The present study shows the protective effects of CH on myocardial injury via inflammation. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Retracted [7 January 2021] . ------------------------------------------------------------ The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data. The images in the article were screened by an image integrity expert. In Fig. 2, the expert found several duplicating features in each of the three micrographs, confirming that these images have been manipulated. Duplicating features were also observed in the IR HMGB1 and CH HMGB1 panels in Fig. 6A, indicating that these images had been manipulated. The expert also raised concerns with the integrity of the Western blots in Fig. 7 and 8. Analysis of the blots in Fig. 7 revealed uncharacteristic white marks around the bands. Analysis of Fig. 8 showed that the first and third band in the P65 panel are unexpectedly similar, and there are potential splice marks in the control GAPDH panel. The authors were asked to provide the raw data for this article, but did not respond. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, and the lack of raw data, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable. The authors have been informed but have not responded to any correspondence regarding the retraction. Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances Date: 7th January 2021 --------------------------------------------------- Indeed, the panels of Fig 2 are swarming with repeated visual elements. They are digital creations. ![file] Fig 6: ![file] I feel that the digital artist s efforts deserve wider recognition, which is why I am commenting on a retracted paper. I am also struck by the stylistic similarities between the Figures and a series of similar papers in *European review for medical and pharmacological sciences* with the same  Triptych format, e.g. [Sun et al (2019)] or [Zhang et al (2019)] . ![] Covered in a [blogpost] ,