['To investigated if paclitaxel can attenuate hepatic fibrosis in rat hepatic stellate cells (RHSCs).', "RHSCs were cultured in vitro and randomly assigned to four groups: normal control group (treated only with Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium), Taxol group (200 nmol/L paclitaxel was added to the cell culture), transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta group (5 ng/mL recombinant human TGF-beta1 was added to the cell culture), and TGF-beta + Taxol group. TGF-beta signaling cascade and status of various extracellular matrix proteins were evaluated by real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting.", 'The paclitaxel treatment markedly suppressed Smad2/3 phosphorylation. This was associated with attenuated expression of collagen I and III and fibronectin in RHSCs.'] Does paclitaxel ameliorate fibrosis in hepatic stellate cells via inhibition of TGF-beta/Smad activity?