RETRACTED: Healing potential of Spirulina platensis for skin wounds by modulating bFGF, VEGF, TGF-ß1 and α-SMA genes expression targeting angiogenesis and scar tissue formation in the rat model

Abstract

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The journal was alerted to an associated PubPeer post in which suspected duplicated features were identified within Figure 4 B1, and the histological image in Figure 3 A1 appears to have been previously published in another article, as detailed here: https://pubpeer.com/publications/E5658B7B735FF993AA795A5F14C086. The journal performed independent analysis and identified additional suspected image duplications between the images of mice in Figure 1 A+B and images of mice in Figure 6 A+B from Elbialy et al., BMC Veterinary Research (2020). The journal requested the authors provide an explanation to these concerns and associated raw data, but this request was not satisfactorily fulfilled. The Editor-in-Chief assessed the case and decided to retract the article.