By decreasing circulating interferon-γ levels and inhibiting the signal transduction pathways such as the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), and FasL pathways, peiminine can alleviate pulmonary inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis in a rat model of bleomycin-induced lung injury (Guo et al., 2013). Here, CCN2 is linked to pulmonary fibrosis.