Retracted Papers Resulting From NIH-Funded Foreign Experiments on Animals

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funnels millions of U.S. tax dollars into foreign laboratories from Belgium to Switzerland to conduct experiments on animals that are so fraught with fraud, sloppy mistakes, and animal abuse that papers published about them are being withdrawn by scientific journals.

However, retractions won’t repay taxpayers’ hard-earned money or atone for the suffering of animals who have been electroshocked, maimed, and sickened in pointless experiments. To safeguard U.S. taxpayers from further such misconduct overseas, please support the bipartisan Cease Animal Research Grants Overseas (CARGO) Act (HR 4757), which would prevent NIH from awarding public funding to foreign entities for experiments on animals.

Institution, Country	Experiments	Paper and Reason for Retraction
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium	Toxins were injected into the tails and bellies of mice, who were rendered diabetic. Only 50% of the animals survived this procedure. Pumps were implanted into the bellies of survivors.	Transient cytokine treatment induces acinar cell reprogramming and regenerates functional beta cell mass in diabetic mice There were errors in the reported data.
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (formerly known as the Ontario Cancer Institute), Canada	Mice were forced to ingest a high-fat diet, substances were injected into their bellies, and the animals were finally killed in cancer and diabetes experiments.	The cancer associated FGFR4-G388R polymorphism enhances pancreatic insulin secretion and modifies the risk of diabetes The experimenters apparently manipulated images.
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Canada	Mice were killed, and their cells were used in muscle regeneration experiments.	MyoD-dependent regulation of NF-κB activity couples cell-cycle withdrawal to myogenic differentiation Experimenters apparently manipulated images. One experimenter, who is affiliated with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, has received more than $6 million from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences over the last two decades.
Henan University of Science and Technology, China	Mice were injected with cancer cells, causing them to grow large ulcers and tumors.	MiR‐497‐5p inhibits cell proliferation and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting insulin‐like growth factor 1 The paper raised serious animal welfare concerns, and experimenters failed to adhere to minimum ethical standards. They allowed the mice to grow tumors well over “internationally accepted limits” in size.
Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China	Mice were subjected to painful cancer experiments that resulted in large tumors.	Porphyromonas gingivalis promotes progression of esophageal squamous cell cancer via TGFβ-dependent Smad/YAP/TAZ signaling Experimenters faked their graphs and lied about their data.
The University of Liverpool, U.K.	Acetaminophen was injected into the bellies of mice to damage their livers, and the animals were then killed in hepatic necrosis experiments.	Redox modification of cysteine residues regulates the cytokine activity of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) Experimenters manipulated data and fabricated images.
University College Cork, Ireland	Female mice were infected with the bacterium that causes influenza and asphyxiated with carbon dioxide in influenza experiments.	Haemophilus influenzae responds to glucocorticoids used in asthma therapy by modulation of biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance Experimenters apparently lied about the medication administered to the mice.
IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Italy	The brains of rats were electroshocked in epilepsy experiments.	Targeting oxidative stress improves disease outcomes in a rat model of acquired epilepsy The authors included data in the paper that “could not be traced back to the original experiments.”
University of Bern, Switzerland	Mice were killed by breaking their necks, and their hearts were removed in cardiac disease experiments.	Oxidative stress and Ca²⁺ release events in mouse cardiomyocytes Experimenters made “extensive” errors in their data analysis and description.