A promising target of anti-fibrotic therapy: herbal compound 861

Cpd861, a traditional Chinese medicine extracted from 10 herbs, has anti-fibrotic effects and is used in treatment of liver diseases such as cirrhosis. Randomized double-blinded and placebo-controlled clinical trials have proved that Cpd861 can significantly delay and reverse hepatic fibrosis due to HBV infection.

The research team led by Dr. Bao-En Wang from Capital Medical University studied the molecular mechanism of Cpd861 underlying the inactivation of LX-2 cells, effect of Cpd861 on the expression of genes such as ALK1and Id1, and protein level of phosphorylated Smad1 in the TGF beta1/ALK1/Smad1 signaling pathway. The results indicate that the TGF beta1/ALK1/Smad1 signaling pathway can be activated by TGF- beta1, inhibited by Cpd861, and is, therefore, a potential target of anti-fibrotic therapy.