PNPLA3 and Hepatic steatosis: In the present study, we used abdominal US to evaluate fatty change of the liver and the existence of hepatic cirrhosis in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C. Despite our study population being relatively small, PNPLA3 rs738409 and IL28B rs8099917 genotypes seemed to have no association with fatty liver or the presence of hepatic cirrhosis although TLR4 rs4986790 and rs4986791 genotypes were uniform in the patients of the present study.