Vol. 208, No. 7, June 13, 2011. Pages 1485–1499.
At the request of the Dean for Research, Mayo Clinic Arizona, the paper “Foxp3-positive macrophages display immunosuppressive properties and promote tumor growth” by Zorro-Manrique, et al. is now retracted. The Dean states:
“We have recently received requests from readers to clarify the methodology and results in the paper presented by Zorro Manrique and colleagues. Regrettably, the senior investigator, Dr. Joseph Lustgarten, has passed away, and we do not have reliable access to his full methodology and data to substantiate the paper's claims. In our ongoing efforts to respond to reader requests, concerns have arisen that individual methods, controls, labels, and data magnitude may be inaccurately portrayed in the paper. Although the surviving authors maintain a strong conviction that the paper's substance, and the underlying science of regulatory macrophages, are valid, we request the retraction of this manuscript for the reasons stated above.
The reagents provided by co-authors outside of the Mayo Clinic are not implicated in these concerns.
No finding of research misconduct was made concerning the contributions of the surviving authors.”
Editorial Statement of Clarification
JEM was recently contacted by several readers expressing confusion about the wording of the retraction of the article “Foxp3-positive macrophages display immunosuppressive properties and promote tumor growth” by Zorro-Manrique et al., in particular the statement that “the surviving authors maintain a strong conviction that the paper's substance, and the underlying science of regulatory macrophages, are valid.” In response, the JEM Editors issue this Editorial Statement of Clarification. This statement represents the opinion of the Editors alone.
JEM received data from several laboratories that independently attempted, but ultimately failed, to reproduce the findings of Zorro-Manrique et al. In the opinion of the Editors, these data compellingly undermine the conclusion that a distinct population of immunosuppressive CD11b+F4/80+ macrophages expresses Foxp3 in naive and tumor-bearing mice. With the permission of the laboratories, JEM sent their data to the laboratory of the deceased Joseph Lustgarten and requested a response. Shortly thereafter, the Dean for Research, Mayo Clinic of Arizona, requested retraction of the article. JEM published the Dean’s retraction verbatim. It was signed by all surviving authors.
