SMAD7 and Hepatic fibrosis: Along these lines, the upregulation of the transcripts for 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 causative of sinusoidal capillarization (Tauriello et al., 2018) – in HECs isolated from NaCl-treated VeCadIfnar1_KO mice (Figure 6A) could be interpreted as a diminished capacity to shape a vascular antimetastatic barrier.