CD36 and steatosis: This suggests a causal role of CD36 in steatosis supported by abnormally increased CD36 levels in NAFLD patients: a small study reported increased CD36 mRNA levels in obese subjects with high amounts of intracellular fat (66.0 ± 6.8%, n = 5), compared to subjects with low liver fat content (6.4 ± 2.7%, n = 5) [24].