SMAD2 and Hepatic fibrosis: An et al. (2017) identified MFGE8 as an anti-fibrotic factor in the umbilical cord MSC secretome that inhibits TGF-β signaling and reduces liver fibrosis in mice. Moreover, HSP72 was found to attenuate renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis in obstructive nephropathy (Mao et al., 2008) and to inhibit epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which promotes collagen production, via effects on Smad2 activation (Zhou et al., 2010). Finally, the anti-fibrotic potential of SOD1 on radiation-induced fibrosis is mediated by downregulation of TGF-β signaling (Emerit et al., 2006).