Fibrosis: When Healing Goes Too Far

Fibrosis is healing that overshoots — excessive collagen deposition that stiffens and damages organs like the liver, lungs, and heart. B7-33, derived from relaxin, is studied for its ability to reduce that fibrotic scarring by acting through the RXFP1 receptor to curb fibroblast collagen deposition.

Relaxin itself has anti-fibrotic properties but is a large hormone; B7-33 isolates the relevant B-chain signaling in a smaller peptide. Members discuss it as a frontier target in tissue-remodeling research, and the thread below covers what's known about the RXFP1 pathway and the limits of the current evidence.