Antifibrotic

“Antifibrotic” refers to compounds or therapies that prevent, slow, or reverse the development of fibrosis, which is excessive connective tissue formation following tissue injury. This term is applied to a heterogeneous group of drugs and investigational agents, each acting on different molecular pathways (most commonly TGF-β, PDGFR, FGFR, VEGFR, or immune-related signaling). The word “antifibrotic” does not identify a single definable molecule, gene, or protein; rather, it describes the activity or intended effect of such therapies. For structured target identification, the actual molecular targets (e.g., TGF-β receptor, PDGFR, SMURF2) should be specified, not the activity class (“antifibrotic”).

Other names

Antifibrotic agentantifibrotic drug

Various mechanisms; commonly inhibition of TGF-β signaling, tyrosine kinase inhibition (e.g., PDGFR, VEGFR inhibition), suppression of cytokine signaling, inhibition of myofibroblast activation