PLOS One published a correction on August 17, 2026 concerning the article by Nalewaj et al. (2025) that examined interactions between RNA G-quadruplexes derived from influenza A viral RNA (vRNA) and the ligands TMPyP4 and BRACO-19. The correction was issued by The PLOS One Staff and is linked to the original research report (PLoS One. 2025;20(11):e0335975).
The correction notice identifies an error specifically in Table 2 of the original publication. Table 2 contains calorimetric binding parameters obtained from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments that measured interactions between wild-type and mutated variants of three oligonucleotide constructs (designated 1Q, 7Q, and 11Q) and the two ligands, TMPyP4 and BRACO-19.
According to the correction, several parameters derived from the ITC measurements were incorrectly positioned in the originally published Table 2 and therefore associated with the wrong RNA oligomers and ligands. The notice does not state that other parts of the article were changed; it specifically addresses the misalignment of values within Table 2.
The publisher explicitly apologizes for these errors and provides a corrected version of Table 2 to replace the incorrect table in the original article.
The corrected Table 2 is provided in the correction notice as an embedded image and is also available for download in larger PNG and original TIFF formats via the links supplied in the notice. The table is titled: "The binding parameters from the calorimetric titration of the wild-type and mutated variants of 1Q, 7Q, and 11Q with TMPyP4 and BRACO-19 ligands."
The correction text itself does not reproduce the numeric binding parameters in-line; it directs readers to the corrected table image and downloadable files to view the exact ITC-derived values and their correct associations with each RNA oligomer and ligand. If readers require the specific dissociation constants, enthalpies, stoichiometries, or other ITC parameters, they must consult the corrected Table 2 provided in the notice.
The correction affects how the calorimetric binding data in Table 2 should be interpreted because parameter-to-sample associations were previously incorrect. The corrected table realigns each ITC parameter with the proper RNA oligomer (wild-type or mutated 1Q, 7Q, 11Q) and the corresponding ligand (TMPyP4 or BRACO-19).
The notice does not state that any textual conclusions, figures beyond Table 2, or overarching interpretations in the original article were revised; it confines the correction to the table misplacements. Readers and researchers who referenced or plan to use the ITC parameters from the original publication should re-check the corrected Table 2 to ensure they use the accurate binding data and correct oligomer–ligand pairings for downstream analyses or comparisons.
The correction cites the original research article: Nalewaj M, Sliwiak J, Zielinska K, Zmora P, Niedziałek D, Wieczorek G, et al. The interaction of RNA G-quadruplexes from the influenza A virus vRNA with TMPyP4 and BRACO-19 ligands. PLoS One. 2025;20(11):e0335975.
The correction itself is citable as: The PLOS One Staff (2026) Correction: The interaction of RNA G-quadruplexes from the influenza A virus vRNA with TMPyP4 and BRACO-19 ligands. PLoS One 21(8): e0356274. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356274. The correction is published under the Creative Commons Attribution License and includes links to the corrected table image and downloadable files (PNG and TIFF).
Notes for readers
The correction is limited to reassigning the ITC parameters in Table 2 to their correct RNA oligomer and ligand pairs. The correction notice does not provide the numeric values in the correction text; consult the corrected Table 2 image or downloadable files for exact values.
Because the corrected ITC parameter assignments can affect quantitative interpretation of binding strength, thermodynamics, and stoichiometry, investigators who used the original table should reference the corrected table to verify any analyses derived from those data.
No additional methodological or experimental changes beyond the corrected table placement are reported in the correction notice.
For the corrected Table 2 and downloadable files, see the correction notice on PLOS One (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0356274).