Research progress of signaling pathways in liver fibrosis

Hepatic fibrosis is a reversible pathological process in which the liver cells has been subjected to long periods of various acute and chronic injuries leading to the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), imbalance of extracellular matrix synthesis, degradation, and deposition. Among them, the activation of hepatic stellate cells is the key link for the occurrence of hepatic fibrosis, so intervention of HSCs activation and proliferation is expected to reverse the progression of liver fibrosis. Thus, this paper summarizes the signaling pathways involved in the liver fibrosis progression, with hepatic stellate cells as the center, to provide new ideas for the study of anti-fibrosis.