APOB and fatty liver disease: It has a key role in lipoprotein assembly by transferring triglycerides, to nascent apolipoproteins B. Abetalipoproteinaemia, a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the coding region of the MTTP gene, results in very low total cholesterol, undetectable plasma apoB levels and fat malabsorption, and is characterized by liver steatosis although this seldom progresses to steatohepatitis [118, 119].