Conversely, lack of type VIII collagen conferred renoprotection in a mouse model of diabetic nephropathy (Hopfer et al., 2009), modulated TGFβ1 signalling (Loeffler et al., 2011) and resulted in abnormal development of the anterior segment of the eye, including the cornea (Hopfer et al., 2005). Here, TGFB1 is linked to diabetic kidney disease.