[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6629-6630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2720]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


Findings of Scientific Misconduct

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Research Integrity 
(ORI) and the Assistant Secretary for Health have taken final action in 
the following case:
    Kazuhiro Tanaka, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute of Dental and 
Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health: Based on the 
report of an investigation conducted by the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) and additional analysis conducted by the Office of 
Research Integrity (ORI) in its oversight review, the U.S. Public 
Health Service (PHS) found that Dr. Kazuhiro Tanaka, former Visiting 
Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Biology Section, Craniofacial 
Developmental and Biology and Regeneration Branch (CDBRB), National 
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), NIH, engaged in 
scientific misconduct in research supported by PHS funds from the 
NIDCR, NIH Intramural Program.
    PHS found that Respondent engaged in scientific misconduct by 
falsifying data that were included in three published papers: Kazuhiro 
Tanaka, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Fumihiko Nakatani, Yukihide Iwamoto, and 
Yoshihiko Yamada, ``A zinc finger transcription [alpha]A-crystallin 
binding protein 1, is a negative regulator of the chondrocyte-specific 
enhancer of the [alpha]1(II) collagen gene,'' Molecular and Cellular 
Biology (MCB) 20:4428-4435, 2000; Kazuhiro Tanaka, Noriyuki Tsumaki, 
Christine A. Kozak, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Fumihiko Nakatani, Yukihide 
Iwamoto, and Yoshihiko Yamada, ``A Kr[uuml]ppel-associated box-zinc 
finger protein, NT2, represses cell-type-specific promoter activity of 
the [alpha]2(XI) collagen gene,''Molecular and Cellular Biology 
22:4256-4267, 2002; and Ying Liu, Haochuan Li, Kazuhiro Tanaka, 
Noriyuki Tsumaki, and Yoshihiko Yamada, ``Identification of an enhancer 
sequence with the first intron required for cartilage-specific 
transcription of the [alpha]2(XI) collagen gene,'' Journal of 
Biological Chemistry (JBC) 275:12712-12718, 2000.
    Specifically, PHS found that Respondent:
     Falsified the results for CRYBP1 or Sox9 binding to the 
Col2a1 DNA sequence in electrophoretic mobility shift assays in Figure 
1D and Figure 7 in MCB 20:4428-4435, 2000. He used duplicate copies of 
bands or duplicate copies of parts of lanes to falsely represent 
results from reportedly different experimental conditions;
     Falsified the results for NT2 binding to the Col11a2 DNA 
sequence in electrophoretic mobility shift assays in Figures 2D and 6B, 
and falsified the Western blot for NT2 mutant proteins in Figure 8B in 
MCB 22:4256-4267, 2002. He used duplicate copies of bands, parts of 
bands, or duplicate copies of parts of lanes to falsely represent 
results from reportedly different experimental conditions in Figures 2D 
and 6B; and falsely represented results for the Figure 8B Western blot 
by using duplicate copies of bands to represent NT2[Delta]1 (lane 2) 
and NT2[Delta]4 (lane 5) mutant proteins;
     Falsified the Western blot for Sox9 protein expression in 
Figure 4B, JBC 275:12712-12718, 2000, by using duplicate copies of 
lanes 1 and 2 to represent the Sox9 expression in cell extracts from 
both Balb 3T3 and undifferentiated ATDC5 cells; and
     Falsified the Northern blots in multiple panels of Figure 
3, MCB 20:4428-4435, 2000. He used duplicate copies of bands for 
CRYBP1, for Type II collagen, for Type X collagen, and for GAPDH and 
18S EtBr stained control bands to falsely represent results of RNA 
expression from these different genes in ATDC5 cells. He also used 
duplicate copies of bands to falsely represent the RNA expression in 
ATDC5 cells grown under different conditions for either collagen Type 
II in Figure 3, MCB 2000 or collagen [alpha]1(X) in Figure 5 in MCB 
22:4256-4267, 2002. Similarly, duplicate copies of 18S EtBr stained 
control bands were used in both figures with reportedly different 
experimental conditions.
    Both Respondent and PHS are desirous of concluding this matter 
without further expense of time and other resources, and the parties 
have entered into a Voluntary Exclusion Agreement (Agreement). The 
settlement

[[Page 6630]]

is not an admission of liability on the part of the Respondent. 
Respondent neither admits nor denies ORI's finding of scientific 
misconduct. Respondent acknowledges that original data relating to the 
above referenced falsified figures are missing.
    Dr. Tanaka has voluntarily agreed, for a period of three (3) years, 
beginning on January 14, 2009:
    (1) To exclude himself from any contracting or subcontracting with 
any agency of the United States Government and from eligibility or 
involvement in nonprocurement programs of the United States Government 
referred to as ``covered transactions'' pursuant to HHS' Implementation 
(2 CFR Part 376 et seq.) of OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government 
wide Debarment and Suspension (2 CFR, Part 180); and
    (2) To exclude himself from serving in any advisory capacity to 
PHS, including but not limited to service on any PHS advisory 
committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a consultant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative 
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 
750, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453-8800.

Chris B. Pascal,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. E9-2720 Filed 2-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P