In the nucleus, SMAD2/3:SMAD4 heterotrimer complex acts as a transcriptional regulator. The activity of SMAD2/3 complex is regulated both positively and negatively by association with other transcription factors (Chen et al. 2002, Varelas et al. 2008, Stroschein et al. 1999, Wotton et al. 1999). In addition, the activity of SMAD2/3:SMAD4 complex can be inhibited by nuclear protein phosphatases and ubiquitin ligases (Lin et al. 2006, Dupont et al. 2009).