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Open Access

Retraction

Retraction: The angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696 attenuates renal fibrosis via ASK1/JNK/p38 MAPK-mediated apoptosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction

  • The PLOS One Editors

After this article [1] was published, concerns were raised about Figs 1–6.

Specifically:

  • The following panels appear to partially or fully overlap, when aspect ratio and/or color levels are altered:
    • The UUO+VAL and UUO+GS panels in Fig 1C of [1], and Fig 3J in [2].
    • The Sham panels in Fig 1C and Fig. 2B of [1], and the Sham panel in Fig 1E of [3].
    • The UUO+LCZ panel in Fig 2B of [1] and the UUO+GSK872 panel in Fig. 3C of [4] (retracted in [5]).
    • The Sham panel in Fig 4B of [1] and Fig. 7A of [6].
    • The UUO and UUO+GS panels in Fig 6A.
    • The p-MEK4 and p-p38 panels in Fig 6D.
  • When levels are adjusted to visualize the background of the western blot panels in Figs 1D, 2C, 3A, 4C, 5C, 6C and 6D, multiple regions appear to be discontinuous with adjacent background areas.

The authors did not respond to editorial queries about these concerns. In the absence of underlying data, the above issues remain unresolved.

In light of the above unresolved concerns, which question the reliability and integrity of the reported results and conclusions, the PLOS One Editors retract this article.

All authors either did not respond directly or could not be reached.

The UUO + VAL and UUO + GS panels in Fig 1C, the UUO + LCZ panel in Fig 2B, and the Sham panel in Fig 4B in [1] appear similar to content previously published in [2,4,6] under a CC BY 4.0 license. The UUO + VAL and UUO + GS panels in Fig 1C, the UUO + LCZ panel in Fig 2B, and the Sham panel in Fig 4B are subject to the license that applies to the original articles.

References

  1. 1. Ding J, Cui S, Li SY, Cui LY, Nan QY, Lin XJ, et al. RETRACTED: The angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696 attenuates renal fibrosis via ASK1/JNK/p38 MAPK-mediated apoptosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction. PLoS One. 2023;18(6):e0286903. pmid:37310976
  2. 2. Zhao HY, Li HY, Jin J, Jin JZ, Zhang LY, Xuan MY, et al. L-carnitine treatment attenuates renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction. Korean J Intern Med. 2021;36(Suppl 1):S180–95. pmid:32942841
  3. 3. Nan QY, Piao SG, Jin JZ, Chung BH, Yang CW, Li C. Pathogenesis and management of renal fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction. Kidney Res Clin Pract. 2024;43(5):586–99. pmid:38325866
  4. 4. Piao SG, Ding J, Lin XJ, Nan QY, Xuan MY, Jiang YJ, et al. RETRACTED: Inhibition of RIP1-RIP3-mediated necroptosis attenuates renal fibrosis via Wnt3α/β-catenin/GSK-3β signaling in unilateral ureteral obstruction. PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0274116. pmid:36223414
  5. 5. The PLOS One Editors. Retraction: Inhibition of RIP1-RIP3-mediated necroptosis attenuates renal fibrosis via Wnt3α/β-catenin/GSK-3β signaling in unilateral ureteral obstruction. PLoS ONE. 2026;21(1):e0340046.
  6. 6. Jiang YJ, Cui S, Luo K, Ding J, Nan QY, Piao SG, et al. Nicotine exacerbates tacrolimus-induced renal injury by programmed cell death. Korean J Intern Med. 2021;36(6):1437–49. pmid:34666433

Citation: The PLOS One Editors (2026) Retraction: The angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696 attenuates renal fibrosis via ASK1/JNK/p38 MAPK-mediated apoptosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction. PLoS One 21(1): e0340045. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0340045

Published: January 7, 2026

Copyright: © 2026 The PLOS One Editors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.