SMAD3 and kidney disorder: Smad3 is highly activated in a wide range of renal disease; evidence on animal models suggest that the inhibition or blockade of Smad3 may reduce the fibrotic response (Wang et al., 2006; Yang et al., 2009, 2010; Li et al., 2010; Zhou et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2018).