Taken together, these data show for the first time that decorin coated on aligned collagen fibrils reduces TGF-β1 mediated myofibroblast differentiation and demonstrates the importance of cell-ECM interactions for this inhibition, providing a model relevant to the cornea which can contribute to future studies on decorin as a treatment to prevent corneal fibrosis and blindness. Here, TGFB1 is linked to blindness (disorder).