SMAD3 and pulmonary fibrosis: Although there is no evidence that miR-497 contributes to the development of OSF, some studies have suggested that miR-497 can enhance the TGF-β/Smad pathway to promote hepatic fibrosis by targeting Smad7 both in-vivo and in-vitro.39 Furthermore, miR-497 inhibition was found to attenuate silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis by targeting Smad3 and Bcl-220.