In nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), circRNA_002581 acts as a miR-122 sponge and then upregulates the expression of its target gene, cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein 1 (CPEB1), which subsequently impairs autophagy via the PTEN–AMPK–mTOR regulatory pathway, thereby exacerbating NASH progression. This evidence concerns the gene PTEN and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.