ADIPOQ and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Increased lipolysis due to adipose tissue IR is key to NAFLD pathogenesis [5,7], and is associated with altered release of adipokines, and in particular adiponectin, a molecule with insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic effects [8], whose decreased levels have been shown to correlate with hepatic fat accumulation [9-11].