Role of Smad4 on TGF-β–induced extracellular matrix stimulation in mesangial cells

The best characterized signaling pathway employed by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is the Smad pathway; however, its role in matrix production in mesangial cells is unclear. We focused on Smad4, as Smad4 is essential for the activation of Smad-dependent target genes.To investigate the function of Smad4 in extracellular matrix (ECM) production, we generated several stably transfected mesangial cell lines (MMC) that have a deletion in...