HMGCR and fatty liver disease: miRNA-122 has been shown to protect hepatic steatosis in two ways: (1) it inhibits the cholesterol synthesis by post-transcriptionally targeting the mRNA level of fatty acid synthase (FAS), 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme-A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase, HMGCR), and their transcriptional activators, the sterol-response-element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2) [12].