TGF-β-mediated upregulation of brachyury contributes to constitutively up-regulated type I collagen expression in skin fibroblasts: possible role in systemic sclerosis

Background Previous reports have shown that epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) indicates the importance of transforming growth factor-13 (TGF-β) signalling in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of EMT are not fully understood.