# State of the ART: Drug Screening Reveals Artesunate as a Promising Anti-Fibrosis Therapy

## TL;DR

This study finds that artesunate, an existing drug, may be effective in treating fibrosis by targeting a specific signaling pathway.

## Contribution

The study identifies artesunate as a novel antifibrotic drug through drug screening in cardiac fibroblasts.

## Key findings

- Artesunate was identified as a potent antifibrotic drug using drug screening in cardiac fibroblasts.
- Artesunate targets the MD2/TLR4 signaling pathway to exert its antifibrotic effects.
- The study suggests repurposing existing drugs like artesunate for fibrosis treatment.

## Abstract

Fibrosis is a progressive pathological process that severely impairs
normal organ function. Current treatments for fibrosis are extremely limited,
with no curative approaches available. In a recent article published in
Cell, Zhang and colleagues employed drug screening using
ACTA2 reporter iPSC-derived cardiac fibroblasts and identified artesunate as a
potent antifibrotic drug by targeting MD2/TLR4 signaling. This study provides
new insights into strategies for exploiting existing drugs to treat
fibrosis.