DES and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis: Based on the mRNA levels of these markers, the NASH group exhibited significantly increased fibrogenic activity compared with controls (11.94 ± 1.15 for Acta2, 159.58 ± 5.20 for Col1a1, 6.64 ± 0.07 for Des, 10.42 ± 0.91 for Tgfb1; all p < 0.001 versus control).