Recently, Gal-3 was identified as a useful tool for the diagnosis or therapy of some chronic diseases, which may include heart failure, atherosclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), renal failure, organ fibrosis/remodeling, and some types of cancers37,38. Here, LGALS3 is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.