IL6 and fatty liver disease: It has been shown in rodents that the setting of simple hepatic steatosis is associated with a chronic hepatic inflammatory state, due to increased activation of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) transcription factor which, in turn, functioning as a pro-inflammatory switch, induces the transcription of inflammatory cytokines, including TNFα and IL-6, in the hepatocytes and in the Kupffer cells [26].