Activation of IRE1α contributes to insulin resistance—see above, steatosis through interaction of XBP1s with the SREBP-1 promoter to increase lipogenic gene expression [103], and increases expression of thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) which activates the NLRP3 inflammasome [102] contributing to inflammation and fibrosis [128,135]. The gene discussed is TXNIP; the disease is steatosis.