TGFB1 and fibrosis: According to the disease stage, the lowest levels of TGFB1 expression were observed in patients with a fibrosis score of F0-F1 (median mRNA: 11.410; IQR: 5.255), with a significant increase in gene expression (p = 0.0178 and p = 0.0432) as the liver disease evolved to F2 (median mRNA: 17.910; IQR: 32.75) and F3-F4 (median mRNA: 17.390; IQR: 17.730; Fig 5C).