EDITORIAL EXPRESSION OF CONCERN. PNAS is publishing an Editorial Expression of Concern regarding the following two articles:
(i) BIOPHYSICS. “Structure of vaccinia complement protein in complex with heparin and potential implications for complement regulation,” by Vannakambadi K. Ganesh, Scott A. Smith, Girish J. Kotwal, and Krishna H. M. Murthy, which appeared in issue 24, June 15, 2004, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (101:8924-8929; first published June 3, 2004; 10.1073/pnas.0400744101).
(ii) BIOPHYSICS. “Crystal structure of human apolipoprotein A-I: Insights into its protective effect against cardiovascular disease,” by A. Abdul Ajees, G. M. Anantharamaiah, Vinod K. Mishra, M. Mahmood Hussain, and H. M. Krishna Murthy, which appeared in issue 7, February 14, 2006, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (103: 2126-2131; first published February 1, 2006; 10.1073/pnas.0506877103).
The editors wish to note that we have received a report from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that has investigated allegations of falsified or fabricated protein crystallographic structures including PDB codes 1RID and 2A01, which were published in the PNAS papers noted above. The UAB committee has forwarded their findings to the US Office of Research Integrity (ORI). We are awaiting the findings of ORI to determine the appropriate next steps.