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. 2023 Feb 9;9:53. doi: 10.1038/s41420-023-01347-8

Fig. 1. The role of Treg in promoting fibrosis.

Fig. 1

Liver fibrosis is primarily induced by HSCs that promote TGF-β based production of myofibroblasts that stimulate ECM-driven fibrogenesis. Tregs can also activate HSCs to promote fibrosis through the TGF-β pathway. Treg can induce HSCs via the expression of IL-8. Treg cells with CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ can be selectively expanded by HSCs in an IL-2–dependent pattern. Tregs can directly suppress NK cells from degranulating in the role of IL-8, TGF-β1, and CTLA-4 signalling pathways. Footnote: hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), extracellular matrix (ECM), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), regulatory cells (Treg), kupffer call (KC), interleukin-2 (IL-2), natural killer cell (NK cell), cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4).