MTOR and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis: With regard to the mechanism involved, Yamada et al. reported that the intestinal microbiome plays a major role in the conversion of primary to secondary bile acids, such as deoxycholic acid, which promote the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated HCC in mice by activating mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling in hepatocytes [40].