CD36 and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: On the contrary, once NAFLD-associated terms were displayed graphically, a stepwise hierarchical central hub appeared centered on the apoptosis-mediating surface antigen FAS, the protein kinase AMP-activated AMPK (an energy sensor protein kinase that plays a key role in regulating cellular energy metabolism), insulin, and C-reactive protein (Figure 2); in addition, two-side nodes centered on IL6 and CD36 were also displayed.