NLRP3 and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: In a liver sample from 77 full-spectrum NAFLD patients, mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3 and IL-18 were significantly higher than those in non-NASH patients, and IL-1β mRNA expression was associated with collagen-1A1, a pro-fibrosis gene expressed by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) (Wree et al., 2014).