SMAD2 and renal fibrosis: The therapeutic value of TCs was also evidenced by different studies highlighting that TC transplantation succeeded in improving fibrosis both in a rat model of myocardial infarction, where it led to a substantial reduction in infarct size and collagen deposition, and in a unilateral ureteral obstruction-induced renal fibrosis rat model, where it not only reduced fibronectin, COL1A1 and α-SMA expression, but also decreased serum TGFβ1 levels and suppressed Smad2/3 phosphorylation [40,41].