TY - JOUR T1 - An Overview of Hedgehog Signaling in Fibrosis JF - Molecular Pharmacology JO - Mol Pharmacol DO - 10.1124/mol.114.095141 SP - mol.114.095141 AU - Liping Hu AU - Xiangyang Lin AU - Hong Lu AU - Bicheng Chen AU - Yongheng Bai Y1 - 2014/01/01 UR - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2014/11/18/mol.114.095141.abstract N2 - The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling plays an important role during embryogenesis and tissue regeneration. Recently, studies revealed that over-activated Hh signaling leads to fibrogenesis in many types of tissues. The activation of Hh signaling is involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and excessive extracellular matrix deposition. Blockade of Hh signaling abolishes the induction of EMT and ameliorates tissue fibrosis. Therefore, new therapeutic targets to alleviate fibrosis based on the Hh signaling have attracted a great deal of attention. This is a new strategy for treating fibrosis and other related diseases. In this review, we will discuss the crucial role of Hh signaling in fibrogenesis to provide a better understanding of their relationship and to encourage the study of novel targeted therapies. ER -