Natural Products in Liver Fibrosis Management: A Five-year Review.

Liver fibrosis, characterized by the overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins within liver tissue, poses a rising global health concern. However, no approved antifibrotic drugs are currently available, highlighting the critical need for understanding the molecular mechanisms of liver fibrosis. This knowledge could not only aid in developing therapies but also enable early intervention, enhance disease prediction, and improve our understanding of the interaction between various underlying conditions and the liver. Notably, natural products used in traditional medicine systems worldwide and demonstrating diverse biochemical and pharmacological activities are increasingly recognized for their potential in treating liver fibrosis. This review aims to comprehensively understand liver fibrosis, emphasizing the molecular mechanisms and advancements in exploring natural products' antifibrotic potential over the past five years. It also acknowledges the challenges in their development and seeks to underscore their potency in enhancing patient prognosis and reducing the global burden of liver disease.

A novel polymer enabled by polymerized small molecule strategy for tumor photothermal and photodynamic therapy.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are effective method for tumor treatment. However, the limited variety and quantity of photothermal agents (PTAs) and photosensitizer (PSs) are still major challenges. Moreover, the cell apoptosis mechanism induced by PDT and PTT is still elusive. A fused-ring small molecule acceptor-donor acceptor' donor-acceptor (A-DA'D-A) type of Y5 (Scheme 1) has a narrow band-gap and strong light absorption. Herein, we used Y5 to polymerize with thiophene unit to obtain polymer PYT based on polymerized small molecule strategy, and PYT nanoparticles (PYT NPs) was prepared via one-step nanoprecipitation strategy with DSPE-PEG2000. PYT NPs had excellent biocompatibility, good photostability, high photothermal conversion efficiency (67%) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production capacity under 808 nm laser irradiation (PYT NPs + NIR). In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that PYT NPs + NIR had the ability to completely ablate tumor cells. It was demonstrated that cell apoptosis induced by PYT NPs + NIR was closely related to mitochondrial damage. This study provides valuable guidance for constructing high-performance organic PTAs and PSs for tumor treatment. Scheme 1 PYT enabled by polymerized small molecule strategy for tumor photothermal and photodynamic therapy.