S100A9 and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis: S100a9 increased slightly in the NAFL group compared with the control group (2-fold; P < 0.05); when compared with the NAFL group, levels in the NASH groups were significantly higher (3-fold; P < 0.05), and levels in the NAFL + T2DM group were slightly decreased (0.5-fold; P < 0.05) (Fig 3).