**3. Outlook: PGs in future therapies of chronic liver disease and HCC**

PGs are emerging therapeutic targets in inflammatory, fibrogenic and malignant diseases. As a summary to this review, in **Table 2** we have collected some (however, by no means all) current attempts to exploit the multiple actions of PGs for countering the progression of chronic liver disease and HCC. Such experiments may involve delivery of PGs with supposed therapeutic effect, inhibition of those known to promote the pathologic process, modulation of HS structure, or application of HS-mimicking molecules. Some PGs expressed in the liver may be well-studied therapeutic targets in other organs or tumor types (e.g. perlecan, heparanase), yet have not been included in the list because their therapeutic potential has not been addressed specifically in the context of liver disease. The level of evidence (*in vitro*, *in vivo*) is also indicated in the table.

Therapeutic approaches targeting glypican-3 have reached closest to human application; some phase I clinical trials have been completed or are underway. Several other PGs show remarkable promise, but these apparently have a longer way ahead.
