Abstract
The Journal Editors and Sage hereby issue an expression of concern for the following article:
Arner A, Rockenstein E, Mante M, et al. Increased vulnerability of the hippocampus in transgenic mice overexpressing APP and triple repeat Tau. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 2018; 61(3): 1201–1219. doi:10.3233/JAD-170388
The Journal Editors and Sage were alerted to a discussion surrounding the article on PubPeer. The following concerns were raised:
Figure 7(a), Young, WB band Actin appears highly similar to Figure 9(a) Young, WB band Actin Figure 11(a) Young, Dentate Gyrus / APP has elements which appear to overlap with Figure 11(a) Young, CA1 Pyramidal/APP
Sage contacted the authors for comments and to request the underlying raw data.
In response to concern (1) the authors explained that they only ran a blot for actin once for Figure 7(a) and 9(a), as the antibodies were stripped from the blots and reprobed. The authors were unable to provide the underlying raw data, citing hardware failure.
In response to concern (2) the authors acknowledge that there is some overlap between the images. One image depicts the CA1 pyramidal, which is the top end of the outer molecular layer of the Dentate Gyru, depicted in the other images. The authors explained that the hippocampal brain areas are adjacent regions and that this would explain the overlap in micrograph images. The authors provided underlying raw images which included images without overlap.
Because the authors were not able to alleviate concerns regarding Figure 7(a), the Journal Editors and Sage are unable to uphold the claims made by the authors in the article. This expression of concern will remain in place until further evidence is provided to Sage to resolve the dispute.