Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a severe complication arising from inflammation and fibrosis in the context of NAFLD, exhibits higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-8, IL-13, CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5 compared to patients with NASH, accompanied by an increase in activated monocytes in the bloodstream.950,951 Single-cell sequencing reveals that in HCC driven by liver fibrosis, TAMs predominantly express genes such as TREM2, GPNMB, SLC40A1, APOE, C1QA, and C1QB. Here, TREM2 is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.