Erratum: Combinatorial actions of Tgfβ and Activin ligands promote oligodendrocyte development and CNS myelination (Development (2014) 141 (2414-2428) DOI: 10.1242/dev.106492)

The journal contacted the authors who said that some of the bands in the western blots in Fig. 3 and Fig. S3 were manipulated during figure compilation. After discussion with the corresponding author, Development referred this matter to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), who investigated and concluded that: “The main conclusions of the manuscript are supported by the data obtained utilizing other methodologies, including immunohistochemistry.” Development’s editorial policies state that: “Should an error appear in a published article that affects scientific meaning or author credibility but does not affect the overall results and conclusions of the paper, our policy is to publish a Correction…” and that a Retraction should be published when “…a published paper contain[s] one or more significant errors or inaccuracies that change the overall results and conclusions of a paper…”. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which state: “Retraction should usually be reserved for publications that are so seriously flawed (for whatever reason) that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon”. The standards of figure assembly and data presentation in this paper fall short of good scientific practice. However, given that the ISMMS declared that the conclusions of the paper were not affected by the manipulations, the appropriate course of action – according to COPE guidelines – is to publish a Correction, which Development has made as detailed as possible. The corresponding author has provided the journal with the original scans of the relevant blots. In the Mbp blot in Fig. 3C, lanes were rearranged to match the order of samples on the other blots without an appropriate explanation. These splices are now indicated with black lines in the new figure panel. The control actin blot in Fig. 3C was compressed vertically when the figure was prepared. The uncompressed blot is shown below, along with a new densitometric analysis in Fig. 3D based on these bands. (Figure Presented) The order of the lanes was incorrect in the P-GSK3α/β(S21/S9) blot in Fig. S3B. The correct order is shown in the new figure below, with lines indicating where lanes have been spliced. The investigation also showed that bands from the original P-GSK3α/β(S21/S9) blot were rearranged and duplicated in the actin blot. The correct actin blot for Fig. S3B was located and is shown in the new figure. Readers should note that the P-p44/42(T202/Y204) blot in Fig. S3B has also been replaced because the original blot was inappropriately over-contrasted. On the basis of these changes, a new densitometric analysis was carried out and is reported in Fig. S3C-J. In addition, the actin loading control blot in Fig. S3K was duplicated from Fig. 3A. The correct actin blot for Fig. S3K was located and is shown in the new figure below. (Figure Presented) The authors apologise to the journal and readers for these errors.