4.2 Review

TGF-/SMAD Pathway and Its Regulation in Hepatic Fibrosis

Journal

JOURNAL OF HISTOCHEMISTRY & CYTOCHEMISTRY
Volume 64, Issue 3, Pages 157-167

Publisher

SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1369/0022155415627681

Keywords

Epithelial-myofibroblast transition; hepatic fibrosis; miRNAs; TGF- beta SMAD

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Funding

  1. Chinese National Natural Science Foundation [81100302]
  2. Intercollegiate Key Projects of Nature Science of Anhui Province [KJ2011A174]

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Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-1), a key member in the TGF- superfamily, plays a critical role in the development of hepatic fibrosis. Its expression is consistently elevated in affected organs, which correlates with increased extracellular matrix deposition. SMAD proteins have been studied extensively as pivotal intracellular effectors of TGF-1, acting as transcription factors. In the context of hepatic fibrosis, SMAD3 and SMAD4 are pro-fibrotic, whereas SMAD2 and SMAD7 are protective. Deletion of SMAD3 inhibits type I collagen expression and blocks epithelial-myofibroblast transition. In contrast, disruption of SMAD2 upregulates type I collagen expression. SMAD4 plays an essential role in fibrosis disease by enhancing SMAD3 responsive promoter activity, whereas SMAD7 negatively mediates SMAD3-induced fibrogenesis. Accumulating evidence suggests that divergent miRNAs participate in the liver fibrotic process, which partially regulates members of the TGF-/SMAD signaling pathway. In this review, we focus on the TGF-/SMAD and other relative signaling pathways, and discussed the role and molecular mechanisms of TGF-/SMAD in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis. Moreover, we address the possibility of novel therapeutic approaches to hepatic fibrosis by targeting to TGF-/SMAD signaling.

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