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World J Gastroenterol. Jul 14, 2026; 32(26): 116924
Published online Jul 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.116924
Published online Jul 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.116924
Echoes of ancient wisdom and synergistic strategies invigorate the fight against liver fibrosis
Bing Wang, Yuan Li, Ying-Yu Wang, Wei-Qi Liu, Xiang Xu, Ming-Ming Liu, Institute of Micro
Bing Wang, Yuan Li, Ying-Yu Wang, Wei-Qi Liu, Xiang Xu, Ming-Ming Liu, International Center of Microvascular Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China
Bing Wang, Yuan Li, Ming-Ming Liu, Diabetes Research Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China
Co-first authors: Bing Wang and Yuan Li.
Author contributions: Liu MM designed the overall concept and outline of the opinion review; Wang B and Li Y drafted the original manuscript and are the co-first authors of the manuscript; Wang YY, Liu WQ, and Xu X contributed to the literature review and revision of the manuscript; Liu MM supervised the writing process; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: During the preparation of the opinion review, the authors utilized Grammarly for basic grammar and spelling checks to improve the readability of the text. We confirm that no portion of the main text was generated by large language models. AI was not involved in the conceptualization of the opinion review. Furthermore, no images, figures, or tables within review were generated or modified by AI tools. After utilizing the linguistic assistance, the authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and take full and complete responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the final review.
Supported by Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 7252093.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Corresponding author: Ming-Ming Liu, PhD, Associate Professor, Institute of Microcirculation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 5 Dongdan Third Alley, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100005, China. mingmingliu@imc.pumc.edu.cn
Received: November 27, 2025
Revised: January 23, 2026
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published online: July 14, 2026
Processing time: 213 Days and 14.6 Hours
Revised: January 23, 2026
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published online: July 14, 2026
Processing time: 213 Days and 14.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The failure of reductionist magic bullet therapies in liver fibrosis necessitates a shift toward systems pharmacology and network regulation. Serving as a prime example of this paradigm, the Crocus sativus-Calculus bovis pair validates combinatorial strategies that simultaneously modulate the p38 MAPK and transforming growth factor-β/Smad axes to collapse the fibrogenic network. Clinical success depends on evolving from chemical standardization to bioactivity-linked quality control and adopting precision medicine to stratify patient endotypes.