However, trichrome staining showed no ectopic collagen deposition evident in either 11β-HSD1KO or control liver, with only collagen of the tunica externa of blood vessels stained (Figure 6B), suggesting that increased Col1a1 expression was a marker of the very earliest progression to NASH only seen in 11β-HSD1KO mice. This evidence concerns the gene COL1A1 and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.