WIKIMEDIA, HELLERHOFFA recent study in Scientific Reports this month (March 9) pointed to the existence of a fat browning protein called irisin as nothing more than “myth.” But as scientist Paul Brookes noted on Twitter today (March 18), “‘News on #Irisin being an artifact . . . will be no surprise to @PubPeer readers.”
PubPeer users have been scrutinizing the original 2012 Nature paper on irisin, by Bruce Spiegelman at Harvard Medical School and colleagues, since 2013, when Duke biochemist Harold Erickson penned a critical commentary on the study in Adipocyte. (Erickson went on to coauthor the recent Scientific Reports study.)
The PubPeer discussion initially focused on the antibody Spiegelman’s group used to detect irisin. A commenter who claims to be Spiegelman described how the antibody was “misannotated” by the company, but still detects the cleaved form of irisin. Following suggestions by other commenters, Spiegelman posted data supporting his conclusion.
Some were satisfied by Spiegelman’s efforts and applauded his follow-up, but others remained skeptical, particularly regarding the quality of reagents used in Spiegelman’s and others’ studies on irisin. One ...
