Of the more than 50 proteins that fit the loose criteria for molecules of interest, several cytokines (e.g. TNFα, IL-6, IL-8) were excluded from further consideration, having been previously measured by our and other laboratories and found to lack differentiating power in context of NASH and NASH-related fibrosis [10], [12]. This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.