This is my letter to the Editor in Chief of Circulation in April, 2016:
I am writing regarding our paper published in 2008 in the Journal entitled "Transcriptional regulation of Bim by FOXO3a and Akt mediates scleroderma serum-induced apoptosis in endothelial progenitor cells". A concern was raised in PubPeer that the FOXO3a data in Figure 4 of the paper appeared identical to the FOXO3a data in Figure 5. The first author, Dr. Shoukang Zhu, might have used the same blots for both figures, as the experimental conditions were exactly the same, although she cannot be sure at this point, 8 years after the data were generated. Also, due to the significant time lapse and the relocation of our lab from Duke University (where the work was performed) to the University of Miami, we do not have access to the original gels and the blots that were used to produce the Figure. Although this error does not affect the conclusions of the paper, and there is no evidence for deliberate data fabrication, I understand that this is an irregular practice. I will accept whatever decision you would make regarding the paper. Please kindly let me know.