SMAD2 and Hepatic fibrosis: Moreover, in a study investigating the alleviation of carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in rats, PEA was shown to reduce the phosphorylation of Smad2 in TGF-β1-stimulated LX-2 hepatic stellate cells and significantly inhibit the transcriptional activity of Smad complexes (Ohara et al., 2018).