Supramolecular Peptide‐based Nanomaterials for the Treatment of Fibrosis

Fibrosis is the result of an abnormal damage repair response that causes significant accumulation of extracellular matrix in place of healthy parenchymal tissue. Fibrogenesis can occur in a number of chronic inflammatory diseases as a general pathogenic process, such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, chronic kidney disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Without prompt treatment, fibrosis will continue to progress, eventually leading to functional disability, organ failure, and even death. However, clinically available, effective antifibrotic drugs remain elusive. Self-assembling peptides with high biocompatibility, programmability, and ease of modification provide an innovative way to produce antifibrotic nanomedicines, which shed new light on the treatment of fibrosis. In this chapter, we highlight the typical methods for fabricating antifibrotic nanomedicines from self-assembling peptides and their antifibrotic properties, especially in combination with various therapeutic applications, including peptide therapy, protein therapy, gene therapy, cell treatment, and extracellular vesicle therapy.