IL1B and Hepatic fibrosis: Tung and his colleagues also showed that P2X7R antagonist brilliant blue (BBG) downregulates TGF-β signal pathway and significantly decreases the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in cirrhotic rats induced by choledochal ligation, and suggested that blocking P2X7R may be a therapeutic target for liver fibrosis and its complications (Tung et al., 2015).