Figure 1.

Original schematic depicting the immunological mechanism behind liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and failure. A summary schematic of hepatic stellate cell (HpSC)-initiated extracellular matrxi (ECM) deposition, where imbalanced tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)/matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) ratios lead to less proteolytic activity and increased collagen synthesis. HBV: hepatitis B virus, HCV: hepatitis C virus, DAMP: damage-associated molecular pattern, PAMP: pathogen-associated molecular pattern, NK: natural killer, TGF-β: transforming growth factor β, TNFα: tumor necrosis factor-alpha, ROS: reactive oxygen species, IL: interleukin, EGF: epidermal growth factor, VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor, NF-κB: nuclear factor-kappa B, CXCL: chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand. Original schematic was created with BioRender.com.