Further, since non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an independent risk factor for LC [3, 4], we used a mouse model to explore HKDC1 expression in a NASH-induced LC model (a NASH diet of high fat, cholesterol and sucrose diet (HF-HC-HSD) for 34 weeks). Here, HKDC1 is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.