Smad2 protects against TGF-β/Smad3-mediated renal fibrosis

XM Meng, XR Huang, ACK Chung, W Qin… - Journal of the …, 2010 - journals.lww.com
Smad2 and Smad3 interact and mediate TGF-β signaling. Although Smad3 promotes
fibrosis, the role of Smad2 in fibrogenesis is largely unknown. In this study, conditional
deletion of Smad2 from the kidney tubular epithelial cells markedly enhanced fibrosis in
response to unilateral ureteral obstruction. In vitro, Smad2 knockdown in tubular epithelial
cells increased expression of collagen I, collagen III, and TIMP-1 and decreased expression
of the matrix-degrading enzyme MMP-2 in response to TGF-β1 compared with similarly …