The rs4374383 non-coding variant in the macrophage c-mer tyrosine kinase (MERTK), a tyrosine kinase that initiates the removal of dying cells by phagocytes and that mediates HSCs activation, protects against fibrosis in both NAFLD and in viral hepatitis C, eliciting MERTK down-modulation [214,215]. Here, MERTK is linked to hepatitis C virus infection.