Hepatic diseases include all diseases that occur in the liver, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, etc. Hepatic diseases worldwide are characterized by high incidences of digestive system diseases, which present with subtle symptoms, are difficult to treat and have high mortality. Galectins are β-galactoside-binding proteins that have been found to be aberrantly expressed during hepatic disease progression. An increasing number of studies have shown that abnormal expression of galectins is extensively involved in hepatic diseases, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver cirrhosis, hepatitis and liver fibrosis. Galectins function as intracellular and extracellular hepatic disease regulators mainly through the binding of their carbohydrate recognition domain to glycoconjugates expressed in hepatocytes. In this review, we summarize current research on the various roles of galectins in cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver fibrosis and HCC, which may provide a preliminary theoretical basis for the exploration of new targets for the treatment of hepatic diseases.

肝病包括所有发生在肝脏中的疾病，包括肝炎，肝硬化，肝细胞癌等。全世界的肝病均以消化系统疾病高发为特征，这些消化道疾病表现出微妙的症状，难以治疗且死亡率高。半乳凝素是β-半乳糖苷结合蛋白，已发现在肝病进展过程中异常表达。越来越多的研究表明，半乳糖凝集素的异常表达广泛涉及肝病，例如肝细胞癌（HCC），肝硬化，肝炎和肝纤维化。半乳凝集素主要通过其碳水化合物识别结构域与肝细胞中表达的糖结合物的结合而充当细胞内和细胞外肝病调节剂。在这篇评论中