{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T16:28:50Z","timestamp":1784132930224,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":129,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,21]],"date-time":"2021-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1616284800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There is considerable interest in delineating the molecular mechanisms of action of transforming growth factor-\u03b2 (TGF-\u03b2), considered as central player in a plethora of human conditions, including cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune disease. TGF-\u03b2 elicits its biological effects through membrane bound serine\/threonine kinase receptors which transmit their signals via downstream signalling molecules, SMADs, which regulate the transcription of target genes in collaboration with various co-activators and co-repressors. Until now, therapeutic strategy for primary Sj\u00f6gren\u2019s syndrome (pSS) has been focused on inflammation, but, recently, the involvement of TGF-\u03b2\/SMADs signalling has been demonstrated in pSS salivary glands (SGs) as mediator of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) activation. Although EMT seems to cause pSS SG fibrosis, TGF-\u03b2 family members have ambiguous effects on the function of pSS SGs. Based on these premises, this review highlights recent advances in unravelling the molecular basis for the multi-faceted functions of TGF-\u03b2 in pSS that are dictated by orchestrations of SMADs, and describe TGF-\u03b2\/SMADs value as both disease markers and\/or therapeutic target for pSS.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22063203","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,21]],"date-time":"2021-03-21T22:00:37Z","timestamp":1616364037000},"page":"3203","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["SMADS-Mediate Molecular Mechanisms in Sj\u00f6gren\u2019s Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8349-1121","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Margherita","family":"Sisto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs (SMBNOS), Section of Human Anatomy and Histology, University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, I-70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4768-8431","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Domenico","family":"Ribatti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs (SMBNOS), Section of Human Anatomy and Histology, University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, I-70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sabrina","family":"Lisi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs (SMBNOS), Section of Human Anatomy and Histology, University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, I-70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Parisis, D., Chivasso, C., Perret, J., Soyfoo, M.S., and Delporte, C. 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