LGALS8 and infection: This review explores the multifaceted roles of key galectin family members—Galectin-1 (Gal-1), Galectin-2 (Gal-2), Galectin-3 (Gal-3), Galectin-8 (Gal-8), and Galectin-9 (Gal-9)—in shaping host–pathogen interactions, mediating mucosal defense, and contributing to either containment or persistence of infection as well as their implications in the early stages of gastric carcinogenesis.