The incidence and prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is characterized by excessive accumulation of lipids within the liver, is high and progressively rising due to increasing obesity and metabolic syndrome prevalence. For some patients, NAFLD can progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, NASH is poorly understood and therapies to treat the disease are lacking. Michele Vacca, from the University of Cambridge in the UK and colleagues sought to investigate the impact of one member of the TGFß-BMP superfamily, BMP8B, on the progression of NASH.