CAFs in HCC are a heterogeneous population that primarily originates from hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and can be classified into five subgroups by scRNA-seq. These subgroups include vascular CAFs (vCAFs), which express microvasculature genes; antigen-presenting CAFs (apCAFs), which express MHC II genes; matrix CAFs (mCAFs), which express extracellular matrix (ECM) signatures; lipid-processing CAFs (lpCAFs), which express lipid metabolism-related genes; and CD36 + lipid processing mCAFs (lpmCAFs), which are enriched in both ECM formation and lipid metabolism and specifically abundant in HCC. Here, CD36 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.