Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40492139›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in pharmacology2025

Mechanism-guided drug development and treatment for liver fibrosis: a clinical perspective.

Xiangchang Zeng, Deliang Huang, Zhibin Zhu, Qingxian Cai, Yang Yang, Hongzhou Lu, Jun Chen

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Hepatic stellate cells in alcoholic liver cirrhosis: mechanisms of fibrogenesis, plasticity, and fibrosis reversal.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Nano-Enhanced Diets: Advancing Metabolic Dysfunction-Related Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) - A Review.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Xiangchang ZengDepartment of Liver Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Deliang HuangDepartment of Liver Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Zhibin ZhuDepartment of Liver Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Qingxian CaiDepartment of Liver Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Yang YangShenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, State Key Discipline of Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Hongzhou LuDepartment of Liver Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Jun ChenDepartment of Liver Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Liver fibrosis is a common response to chronic liver injury due to multiple etiologies and plays a crucial in the progression of chronic liver disease to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and other liver-related clinical outcomes. Currently, available treatments to block liver fibrosis are designed to eliminate the underlying causes of liver disease. The lack of truly effective drugs to regress or reverse fibrosis is a major unmet clinical need. In this context, this article briefly describes the pathological process of hepatic fibrosis and focuses on reviewing the progress of clinical studies on mechanism-based anti-fibrotic drug development and therapy, highlighting that the positive effect of thyroid hormone receptor-β (THR-β) analogs, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analogues, Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, pan-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (pan-PPAR) agonists, fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitors, and hydronidone in reducing liver fibrosis caused by specific etiologies. Moreover, multi-pathway guided combination therapy or traditional Chinese medicine demonstrate significant advantages in combating liver fibrosis. Finally, new technologies and approaches affecting the clinical development of anti-hepatic fibrosis drugs were discussed.

Indexed as

anti-fibrotic drugclinical studyliver fibrosismechanism-guided drug development and treatmentpathogenesis

Identifiers

PMID40492139
PMCPMC12146339

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.