Novel methods for the treatment of liver fibrosis using in vivo direct reprogramming technology

Liver fibrosis caused by an excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins in the liver has been recognized as one of the irreversible chronic liver failures. Patients of liver cirrhosis have dreamed of the recovery from the fibrosis for a long time, and recently, it was reported that regression of liver fibrosis could be induced by elimination of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) from the liver (1,2). However, because regression of liver fibrosis occurs slowly and incompletely, it is still important to continue the development of more efficient therapeutic methods for the treatment of liver fibrosis.