For decades we have known that the overgrowth, hardening and scarring of tissues (so-called fibrosis) represents the final common pathway and best histological predictor of disease progression in most organs. Fibrosis is the culmination of both excess extracellular matrix deposition due to ongoing or severe injury, and a failure to regenerate. An inadequate wound repair process ultimately results in organ failure through a loss of function, and is therefore a major cause of morbidity and mortality in disease affecting both multiple and individual organs.Whilst the pathology of fibrosis and its significance are well understood, until recently we have known little about its molecular regulation. Current therapies are often indirect and non-specific, and only slow progression by a matter of months. The recent identification of novel therapeutic targets, and the development of new treatment strategies based on them, offers the exciting prospect of more efficacious therapies to treat this debilitating disorder.This Research Topic therefore compromises several up-to-date mini-reviews on currently known and emerging therapeutic targets for fibrosis including: the Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-family; epigenetic factors; Angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptors; mineralocorticoid receptors; adenosine receptors; caveolins; and the sphingosine kinase/sphingosine 1-phosphate and notch signaling pathways. In each case, mechanistic insights into how each of these factors contribute to regulating fibrosis progression are described, along with |