MMP2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Figure 3b shows the cytoplasmic reactivity to the CK19 antibody in NASH-derived HCC cancer cells. As noted above, one of characteristic pathological findings in NASH is the infiltration of HPCs. Therefore, expression of MMP-1, MMP-2 and MMP-9 seems to be expected in NASH-derived HCC, and the expression is probably different from that found in viral-derived HCC. The regulatory mechanism of TIMPs in NASH-derived HCC also remains unknown [119,170].