Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• An Editorial Expression of Concern highlights inadequate reporting of animal ethics approval in the original article. • The approval number cited was a general facility license, not a study-specific ethics approval, raising transparency issues. • Authors provided documentation of separate ethical approval, but the reporting remains insufficient. • Readers are advised to interpret the animal ethics approval information with caution.
Abstract
The Editor-in-Chief is issuing an Editorial Expression of Concern to alert readers about concerns regarding the reporting of animal ethics approval in this article [1]. The article cites approval number SYXK 2008 0050, which was noted to appear in multiple publications describing different experiments. The authors have explained that this number refers to an Experimental Animal Use License for the animal facility rather than a study specific ethics approval and have provided documentation indicating that separate ethical approval was obtained for this study. Despite this, the reporting of animal use approval in the article and the use of a general approval instead of a specific one is inadequate. Readers are therefore advised to interpret the information regarding animal ethics approval with caution.
1. Introduction
This Editorial Expression of Concern is issued by the Editor-in-Chief to alert readers to concerns regarding the reporting of animal ethics approval in the article by Kong et al. (2020). The article cited approval number SYXK 2008 0050, which was found to appear in multiple publications describing different experiments. The authors have clarified that this number refers to an Experimental Animal Use License for the animal facility rather than a study-specific ethics approval, and they have provided documentation indicating that separate ethical approval was obtained for the study.
Despite this clarification, the reporting of animal use approval in the article is considered inadequate because a general approval was used instead of a specific one. Consequently, readers are advised to interpret the information regarding animal ethics approval with caution. The original article is available online, and the publisher's note affirms Springer Nature's neutrality regarding jurisdictional claims.
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Defu Kong, Huiming Xu, Mo Chen, Yeping Yu, Yongbing Qian, Tian Qin, Ying Tong, Qiang Xia, Hualian Hang (2026). Editorial Expression of Concern: Co-encapsulation of HNF4α overexpressing UMSCs and human primary hepatocytes ameliorates mouse acute liver failure. Stem Cell Research & Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-026-04962-1
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of this Editorial Expression of Concern?
The purpose is to alert readers to concerns about the reporting of animal ethics approval in the original article by Kong et al. (2020), specifically that the cited approval number was a general facility license rather than a study-specific ethics approval.
What was the issue with the animal ethics approval number?
The article cited approval number SYXK 2008 0050, which was noted to appear in multiple publications describing different experiments. The authors explained that this number refers to an Experimental Animal Use License for the animal facility, not a study-specific ethics approval.
Did the authors obtain separate ethical approval for the study?
Yes, the authors provided documentation indicating that separate ethical approval was obtained for this study, despite the inadequate reporting in the article.
How should readers interpret the animal ethics approval information in the original article?
Readers are advised to interpret the information regarding animal ethics approval with caution, as the reporting was inadequate due to the use of a general approval instead of a specific one.
Where can the original article be found?
The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-020-01962-7.
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