IL1B and fatty liver disease: Danger-associated molecular pattern signaling molecules released from damaged hepatocytes in fatty liver disease confer danger signals to surrounding cells, including HSCs, Kupffer cells, and the nearby hepatocytes, which drive further liver injury and, therefore, play a significant role in fibrosis development.35, 36, 37 In this study, we found that an increase expression of miR-34a in hepatocytes enhanced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNFα and IL-1β, contributing to inflammatory activation in the damaged hepatocytes.