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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2008 May 5.
Published in final edited form as: J Invest Dermatol. 2007 May 31;127(11):2645–2655. doi: 10.1038/sj.jid.5700890

Figure 10. A proposed mechanism of TNF-α suppression of TGF-β1-induced gene expression.

Figure 10

TNF-α inhibits TGF-β1-induced collagen 1a, fibronectin, and α-SMA expression by inhibiting Smad3 phosphorylation via JNK pathway. Inhibition of Smad3 phosphorylation precluded formation of Smad3 and -4 complex and thus prevented it from regulating the target gene. The overall effect of TNF-α is inhibition of TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast differentiation, leading to softer and less contracted matrix.