Studies have shown that HK2-induced lactate promotes histone lactylation, which controls stellate cellular activation and leads to liver fibrosis. The stellate-cell-specific or systemic deletion of HK2 to inhibit H3K18la can mitigate stellate cellular activation and liver fibrosis. The inhibition of H3K9la can inhibit HCC development. Here, HK2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.