Front. Microbiol. Frontiers in Microbiology Front. Microbiol. 1664-302X Frontiers Media S.A. 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1800019 Retraction Retraction: The HBV core protein and core particle both bind to the PPiase Par14 and Par17 to enhance their stabilities and HBV replication Frontiers Editorial Office * Correspondence: Frontiers Editorial Office, research.integrity@frontiersin.org 06 02 2026 2026 17 1800019 30 01 2026 02 02 2026 Copyright © 2026 Frontiers Editorial Office. 2026 Frontiers Editorial Office https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. A Retraction of the Original Research Article The HBV core protein and core particle both bind to the PPiase Par14 and Par17 to enhance their stabilities and HBV replication by Saeed, U., Piracha, Z. Z., Kwon, H., Kim, J., Kalsoom, F., Chwae, Y.-J., Park, S., Shin, H.-J., Lee, H. W., Lim, J. H., and Kim, K. (2021). Front. Microbiol. 12:795047. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.795047 section-at-acceptance Virology

The journal retracts the article cited above.

Following publication, concerns were raised regarding the integrity of the images in the published figures.

Multiple instances of duplicated and manipulated images have been identified within the manuscript. Figure 1C and 8C appear to be duplicated and flipped 180 degrees, while Figure 9B and E contain duplicated bands. Additionally, Figure 6C of the manuscript appears to be duplicated with Figure 11C from an article titled “PIN1 and PIN4 Inhibition via Parvulin Impeders Juglone, PiB, ATRA, 6,7,4′-THIF, KPT6566, and EGCG t…” Furthermore, a duplication was highlighted between Figure 8C of the manuscript and Figure 6A of an article published in the Journal of Virology.

The authors failed to provide a satisfactory explanation during the investigation, which was conducted in accordance with Frontiers' policies. As a result, the data and conclusions of the article have been deemed unreliable and the article has been retracted.

This retraction was approved by the Chief Editors of Microbiology and the Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers. The authors do not agree with this retraction.

Approved by: Frontiers Editorial Office, Frontiers Media SA, Switzerland