Publication of Erroneous Pathology Data: Inadvertent Fraud?
Publications involving mice and other animals sometimes include histopathology figures that do not show what is described in the figure legend and/or text [2, 48, 49]. This problem has occurred most often in publications that do not appear to include a pathologist as a co‐author, and in journals that are not pathology‐based. The absence of pathology support at a research institution may be due to cost, lack of pathology staff, and/or the desire of a scientist and his staff to attempt pathology on their own (“Do It yourself pathology”) [50]. These publications containing clearly erroneous findings may be due to lack of pathologists as reviewers of the submitted manuscript and/or a lack of the journal reviewers and editors who understand the value of accurate histopathology description and interpretation. Emails to authors and editors involved with the publication usually evoke no responses, and rarely concern even if there is a response. The only solution is for scientists and journals to understand the importance of pathology as a critically important medical specialty as part of doing research using mice.
Overall Organization of the Book
The Pathology of Genetically‐engineered Mice (GEM) and Other Mutant Mice is organized into introductory chapters on concepts on the use of mice in biomedical research and the critical need to include mouse pathology expertise. The mouse pathology chapters, by organ system or other topics, are generally organized into sections on anatomy and histology, special necropsy organ protocols, aging/spontaneous strain specific lesions, GEM, and references. The reference listings are not an extensive review of the topic since there are thousands of such references, but they do include recent reviews and relevant classic and current publications. Tables and figures call attention to important information on the mice and their applications.
Acknowledgments
The editors wish to thank the lead and co‐authors of all chapters for their valuable contributions and interactions with the editors.
This work was supported grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01‐CA089713 and P30‐CA034196 to JPS).
References
1 1 Brayton, C.F., Boyd, K.L., Everitt, J.L. et al. (2018). An introduction to pathology in biomedical research: a mission‐critical specialty for reproducibility and rigor in translational research. ILAR J. 59 (1): 1–3.
2 2 Cardiff, R.D., Ward, J.M., and Barthold, S.W. (2008). ‘One medicine—one pathology’: are veterinary and human pathology prepared? Lab. Invest. 88 (1): 18–26.
3 3 Holland, E.C. (ed.) (2004). Mouse Models of Human Cancer. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley‐Liss.
4 4 Proetzel, G. and Wiles, M.V. (eds.) (2016). Mouse Models for Drug Discovery: Methods and Protocols, 2e. New York, NY: Humana Press.
5 5 Schofield, P.N., Ward, J.M., and Sundberg, J.P. (2016). Show and tell: disclosure and data sharing in experimental pathology. Dis. Models Mech. 9 (6): 601–605.
6 6 Sundberg, J.P., Silva, K.A., Li, R. et al. (2004). Adult‐onset alopecia areata is a complex polygenic trait in the C3H/HeJ mouse model. J. Invest. Dermatol. 123 (2): 294–297.
7 7 Sundberg, J.P., Berndt, A., Sundberg, B.A. et al. (2016). Approaches to investigating complex genetic traits in a large‐scale inbred mouse aging study. Vet. Pathol. 53 (2): 456–467.
8 8 Treuting, P.M., Snyder, J.M., Ikeno, Y. et al. (2016). The vital role of pathology in improving reproducibility and translational relevance of aging studies in rodents. Vet. Pathol. 53 (2): 244–249.
9 9 Barthold, S.W., Borowsky, A.D., Brayton, C. et al. (2007). From whence will they come? – a perspective on the acute shortage of pathologists in biomedical research. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 19 (4): 455–456.
10 10 Nussbaum, R.L., McInnes, R.R., and Willard, H.F. (2007). Thompson & Thompson Genetics in Medicine, 7e. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders/Elsevier.
11 11 Dunn, T.B. (1949). Some observations on the normal and pathologic anatomy of the kidney of the mouse. J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 9 (4): 285–301.
12 12 Dunn, T.B. (1958). Morphology and pathology of reticular neoplasms in the mouse: relationship to man. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 76 (3): 619–628.
13 13 Grady, H.G. and Stewart, H.L. (1940). Histogenesis of induced pulmonary tumors in strain A mice. Am. J. Pathol. 16 (4): 417–432.5.
14 14 Cardiff, R.D., Anver, M.R., Boivin, G.P. et al. (2006). Precancer in mice: animal models used to understand, prevent, and treat human precancers. Toxicol. Pathol. 34 (6): 699–707.
15 15 Elmore, S.A., Cardiff, R., Cesta, M.F. et al. (2018). A review of current standards and the evolution of histopathology nomenclature for laboratory animals. ILAR J. 59 (1): 29–39.
16 16 Cardiff, R.D. and Borowsky, A.D. (2010). Precancer: sequentially acquired or predetermined? Toxicol. Pathol. 38 (1): 171–179.
17 17 Barthold, S.W., Griffey, S.M., and Percy, D.H. (2016). Pathology of Laboratory Rodents and Rabbits, 4e. Ames, IA: Wiley‐Blackwell.
18 18 Cheville, N.F. (2009). Ultrastructural Pathology. Ames, IA: Wiley‐Blackwell.
19 19 Fox, J.G., Barthold, S.W., Davisson, M.T. et al. (eds.) (2006). The Mouse in Biomedical Research: History, Wild Mice, and Genetics, 2e. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
20 20 Haines, D.C., Chattopadhyay, S., and Ward, J.M. (2001). Pathology of aging B6; 129 mice. Toxicol. Pathol. 29 (6): 653–661.
21 21 Hedrich, H.J. (ed.) (2012). The Laboratory Mouse, 2e. Amsterdam: Academic Press.
22 22 Jones, T.C., Ward, J.M., Mohr, U., and Hunt, R.D. (eds.) (1990). Monographs on Pathology of Laboratory Animals: Hematopoietic System. Berlin: Springer‐Verlag.
23 23 Maronpot, R.R. (ed.) (1999). Pathology of the Mouse. Vienna, IL: Cache River Press.
24 24 Mohr, U. (ed.) (2001). International Classification of Rodent Tumors: The Mouse. Berlin: Springer.
25 25 Mohr, U., Dungworth, D.L., Capen, C.C. et al. (eds.) (1996). Pathology of the Aging Mouse., Vols. 1 and 2. Washington DC: ILSI Press.
26 26 Ruberte, J., Carretero, A., and Navarro, M. (eds.) (2017). Morphological Mouse Phenotyping: Anatomy, Histology and Imaging. Amsterdam: Academic.
27 27 Scudamore, C.L. (ed.) (2014). A Practical Guide to the Histology of the Mouse. Oxford: Wiley‐Blackwell.
28 28 Sundberg, J.P. and Boggess, D. (2000). Systematic Approach to Evaluation of Mouse Mutations. Boca Raton, FL: CDC Press.
29 29 Sundberg, J.P. and Ichiki, T. (eds.). Genetically Engineered Mice Handbook. Boca Raton,FL: CRC Press.
30 30 Frith, C.H. and Ward, J.M. (1988). Color Atlas of Neoplastic and Non‐neoplastic Lesions in Aging Mice. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
31 31 Turner, P.V., Brash, M.L., and Smith, D.A. (2017). Pathology of Small Animal Pets. Wiley‐Blackwell.
32 32 Wallig, M.A., Haschek, W.M., Rousseaux, C.G. et al. (eds.) (2018). Fundamentals of Toxicologic Pathology, 3e. London: Academic Press.
33 33
