U.K. and U.S. scientists have uncovered an important piece of the puzzle in the signaling pathway that causes damaging scar tissue to build up in the body, raising hopes for future treatments. A team from the University of Manchester and University of Connecticut have revealed how a little-known protein helps keep one of the body's most powerful biological signals under tight control. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, could eventually help researchers develop new ways to tackle conditions linked to fibrosis, a process in which excessive scar tissue forms in organs and prevents them from working properly.