Additionally, the expression levels of the fibrosis and inflammatory marker genes, α-SMA, TGF-β1, MMP2, MMP9, COL1α1, COL3α1, COL5α2, COL6α1, F4/80, TNF-α, IL-1β, and MCP1 were increased in patients with NASH (Supplementary Fig. 8a, b). Here, MMP9 is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.