TGFB1 and renal fibrosis: Lipphardt et al. (2019) have found that DKK3 could significantly reduce the area percentage, total length, and bifurcation number of capillary structures in renal microvascular endothelial cells. Furthermore, it indicated that the nephropathy induced by adriamycin could lead to the upregulation of the DKK-3 level in renal tubular. As a result, DKK-3 could induce EMT and impair angiogenic competence, giving rise to renal fibrosis. In addition, DKK-3 could stimulate the expression of TGF-β, which is recognized as an important factor leading to renal fibrosis (Karamariti et al., 2018).