Further implicating stellate cells in lipid sensing is the association of a variant in the PNPLA3 gene, discovered through genome-wide association studies of NAFLD and associated with risk of NAFLD fibrosis [41], with increased lipid droplet content in primary HSCs and LX-2 cells, as well as with the increased production of several cytokines [42, 43]. Here, PNPLA3 is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.