Subsequently to the publication of the above paper, a concerned reader drew to the authors' attention that there were a number of overlapping data panels featured in the cellular images shown in Fig. 2C on p. 1644, and Figs. 3D and 4 on p. 1645, such that data that were allegedly obtained under different experimental conditions appeared to have been derived from some of the same original sources. Given the number of errors that had been made during the compilation of the figures in this article, the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine has decided that this article should be retracted from the publication owing to a lack of overall confidence in the presented data. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience that might result from the retraction of this article. [International Journal of Molecular Medicine 35: 1641‑1650, 2015; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2015.2172].
Keywords: bone morphogenetic protein 9; cyclopamine; hedgehog signaling; mesenchymal stem cells; osteogenic differentiation; purmorphamine.