Balance of Profibrotic and Antifibroting Signaling in Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis Skin Lesions

Our results suggest a profibrotic imbalance in the TGF-β-SMAD-CTGF axis in NSF skin lesions. Significantly increased dermal expression of TGF-β and TIMP-1 in non-NSF hemodialysis patients in comparison to healthy participants emphasizes the need for a hemodialysis control group for future investigations and suggests a pre-existing profibrotic situation in the skin of hemodialysis patients.