ACTA1 and Hepatic fibrosis: The hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the major source of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in liver fibrosis, including fibronectin (FN), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and Type I collagen (COL I) (Ellis & Mann, 2012; Pellicoro et al., 2014; Tacke & Trautwein, 2015).