SMAD2 and colitis: Compared with WT littermates, Gsdmd-/- mice were resistant to TNBS-induced colitis and intestinal fibrosis, exhibiting less weight loss, colonic shortening, inflammation-associated histological scores, Sirius red staining, and decreased expression of Collagen I, alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), p-Smad2/3, TGFβ1, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in the TNBS colons (Figure 3B-J).