This study demonstrates that compound Biejia-Ruangan tablet (CBRT) alleviates Echinococcus multilocularis (E.m.)-induced hepatic fibrosis by reactivating the suppressed STING-TBK1 signaling pathway in the chronic infection stage, thereby reprogramming macrophage polarization from a pro-fibrotic M2 phenotype toward an M1 phenotype. This work identifies CBRT as a promising immunomodulatory agent that can reverse the Th2/M2-dominated immunosuppressive microenvironment, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for AE and potentially other infection-associated fibrotic diseases. However, further research is required to validate the translational efficacy of CBRT and to define the precise therapeutic window for STING-TBK1 modulation in human fibrotic disorders.
Ma et al. (Tue,) studied this question.