Diagnosis of liver pathology through assessment of protein glycosylation

A method for diagnosing cirrhosis in a subject suspected of having cirrhosis comprising:

• obtaining biological fluid from the subject;
• contacting a protein from said biological fluid with a fucose-binding lectin, wherein said protein is IgG immunoglobulin, and allowing said lectin to bind to said protein;
• quantifiably detecting bound lectin in the biological fluid to obtain a detected bound lectin value;
• and
• comparing the detected bound lectin value with a reference value for lectin binding on said protein in a comparable biological fluid of subjects without cirrhosis, said detected bound lectin value relative to the reference value being indicative of the presence or absence of the cirrhosis, wherein a detected bound lectin value that is less than two-fold higher than said reference value is indicative of the absence of cirrhosis.