RETRACTION

Patel VA, Logan A, Watkinson JC, Uz-Zaman S, Sheppard MC, Ramsden JD, Eggo MC. Isolation and characterization of human thyroid endothelial cells. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 284: E168-E176, 2003. First published September 3, 2002; 10.1152/ajpendo.00096.2002.

ECACC have advised that multiplex analysis of the cell line deposited with them in 2006 and described by Patel et. al. in Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab (2003), shows an identical match to that of the JEG3 cell line. ECACC used a new set of PCR (forensic) primers to detect this co-identity, which initial analyses, by ECACC, had not uncovered. The JEG3 cell line was derived from a human choriocarcinoma, and cell-conditioned medium from this line was used to support the growth of the putative endothelial cell line. The ECACC have withdrawn this cell line, known as TEC61, from distribution. No early passage cells exist, so it is not possible to determine when cross-contamination occurred. Since the overall premise and conclusions of the paper can no longer be assured, the authors would like to retract the paper. We, the authors, sincerely apologize to the editorial board and readership of the American Journal of Physiology.