TGFB1 and systemic sclerosis: Firstly, treatment with TGF-β and/or TNF-α, two well-known inducers of EMT which are overexpressed in SSc patients, were able to induce EMT in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK cells) and was characterized by morphological changes including apparition of spindle-shaped cells, downregulation of epithelial markers such as E-cadherin and ZO-1, and upregulation of mesenchymal markers such as vimentin, fibronectin, and MMPs.