We recently demonstrated that the serum levels of Fuc-Hpt and Mac-2 bp could predict the presence of ballooning hepatocytes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) [14, 15], and the serum Mac-2 bp levels are also associated with liver fibrosis as an independent factor from a multivariate analysis [15]. The gene discussed is LGALS3; the disease is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.