Moreover, in the liver, the group with the highest sodium intake had a lower hepatic TG level (measured by histology or concentration/g of liver), expression of SCD1, a protein associated with TG synthesis, and an increase in matrix metalloproteinases (MMP9 and MMP13), proteins negatively associated with the presence of fibrosis, in comparison to animals that received a normal-sodium diet. This evidence concerns the gene MMP9 and fibrosis.