This Retraction follows an Expression of Concern relating to this article previously published by Portland Press.
This article is being retracted from Bioscience Reports at the request of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board following receipt of a notification from a reader, alerting the Editorial Board to duplicated images in Figures 2F, 2I and 4B which are also published in Biologics: Targets and Therapy (10.2147/BTT.S134920). Images are also duplicated within the Bioscience Reports article, in Figures 2F and 4B.
The authors have been contacted in regards to the retraction, and disagree with the Journal's decision to retract the article; however, the Editorial Board stand by the decision to retract given the quantity and extent of the concerns with the figures.