Discovery of Novel Cyclic Peptides as SMAD2–SMAD4 Interaction Inhibitors for the Treatment of Hepatic Fibrosis

-induced hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Overall, we first demonstrated that the novel cyclic peptide CMF9 could efficiently block the SMAD2-SMAD4 interaction via selectively inhibiting SMAD2 phosphorylation, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for targeting SMAD2 and an alternative candidate for the treatment of liver fibrosis.