SMAD7 and Hepatic fibrosis: This concept is also indirectly supported by the fact that the increased expression Gata4 -a master-regulator of liver sinusoidal differentiation which leads to liver fibrosis deposition upon its loss (Winkler et al., 2021) - and Smad7 – an inhibitor of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) dependent subendothelial matrix deposition and sinusoidal capillarization (Tauriello et al., 2018) were not downregulated by IFNα treatment in mice in which all cell types except LSECs could sense this cytokine, thus loosening the hepatic vascular barrier.