Research progress of β-arrestins in fibrotic diseases / 中国药理学通报

β-arrestins, a kind of important adaptor protein and signal transduction protein found in the purification process ofβ-adrenergic receptor kinase (β-ARK) ,were first identified as pro-teins that have the ability to desensitize G protein-coupled recep-tors ( GPCR) . Fibrosis is defined by the overgrowth, hardening, and scarring of various tissues and is attributed to excess deposi-tion of extracellular matrix ( ECM ) components including colla-gen . A large number of studies have shown thatβ-arrestins play an important role in the process of fibrotic diseases, involved in inflammatory response and excess deposition of ECM. This re-view discusses the research status and development prospects ofβ-arrestins-mediated fibrotic diseases.