8 out of top 20 hub genes have been reported to be associated to NAFLD by literature searching, including STING1, COL1A1, IGFBP7, PTGDS, TIMP1, COL1A2 and COL3A1. Among the hub genes, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, THY1, RHBDF1 perform particularly well in recognition of the severity of NAFLD. Here, RHBDF1 is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.