Blind spots on western blots: Assessment of common problems in western blot figures and methods reporting with recommendations to improve them.

ABSTRACT: Western blotting is a standard laboratory method used to detect proteins and assess their expression levels. Unfortunately, poor western blot image display practices and a lack of detailed methods reporting can limit a reader's ability to evaluate or reproduce western blot results. While several groups have studied the prevalence of image manipulation or provided recommendations for improving western blotting, data on the prevalence of common publication practices are scarce. We systematically examined 551 articles published in the top 25% of journals in neurosciences (n = 151) and cell biology (n = 400) that contained western blot images, focusing on practices that may omit important information. Our data show that most published western blots are cropped and blot source data are not made

SUBMITTER: Kroon C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9518894 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature