Experimental models of fibrosis

Fibrosis, as a pathological process, is characterized by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix and can affect various organs and tissues, including the lungs, liver, heart and kidneys, leading to serious morbidity and poor quality of life. The main mechanisms of fibrosis are disturbances in cellular signaling pathways, their regulation, interaction, including disturbances in the exchange of cellular regulatory signals, impaired mechanisms of cell adhesion, and changes in the extracellular matrix. All this makes the search for new agents with antifibrotic activity to be urgent. The review examines the basic mechanisms of the development of fibrosis with an emphasis on experimental models, as well as the potential and limitations of experimental models of fibrosis in the context of further search and study of new drugs with antifibrotic activity.