Review
Oncology
Dan Liu, Hongtao Zhu, Chuanzhou Li
Summary: Galectin family members play critical roles in tumor progression by regulating autophagy and cancer progression, and galectin-based cancer treatment has great potential in the clinic.
BIOMARKER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicolas A. Pinto, Martin C. Abba, Lorena Laporte, Juan M. Perez M. Saez, Ada G. G. Blidner, Nicolas I. Torres, Rosa M. M. Morales, Sabrina G. G. Gatto, Camila A. A. Bach, Florencia Veigas, Hernan J. Garcia Rivello, Peng Song, Jane H. H. Frederiksen, Lene Juel Rasmussen, Francoise Poirier, Diego O. O. Croci, Victoria Sundblad, Gabriel A. A. Rabinovich, Juan P. P. Cerliani
Summary: Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) has increased due to chronic exposure to sunlight, climatic changes, and immunosuppression. Gal-7, a protein expressed in skin tissue, plays a critical role in NMSC development. Overexpression of Gal-7 leads to an increase in the number of papillomas in transgenic mice.
CELL DEATH AND DIFFERENTIATION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jianbo An, Yushi Nagaki, Satoru Motoyama, Yuta Kuze, Midori Hoshizaki, Kohei Kemuriyama, Tomokazu Yamaguchi, Takashi Ebihara, Yoshihiro Minamiya, Yutaka Suzuki, Yumiko Imai, Keiji Kuba
Summary: Metastasis predicts poor prognosis in cancer patients. Galectin-7 is identified as a crucial mediator of metastasis associated with immunosuppression. Galectin-7 is expressed in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and plays an important role in tumor metastasis to lymph nodes and lungs.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natasha Ustyanovska Avtenyuk, Ghizlane Choukrani, Emanuele Ammatuna, Toshiro Niki, Ewa Cendrowicz, Harm Jan Lourens, Gerwin Huls, Valerie R. Wiersma, Edwin Bremer
Summary: In this study, Gal-9 treatment was found to induce significant membrane alterations in cancer cells by externalizing phosphatidyl serine (PS) and downregulating the anti-phagocytic regulator CD47. It was also shown to trigger trogocytosis and enhance antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis of cancer cells by activating neutrophils and mobilizing granules. Moreover, Gal-9 treatment resulted in decreased cancer cell adhesion and potent cytotoxicity mediated by neutrophils.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Yang An, Shixue Xu, Yiting Liu, Xiangbo Xu, Cyriac Abby Philips, Jiang Chen, Nahum Mendez-Sanchez, Xiaozhong Guo, Xingshun Qi
Summary: High expression of Galectin-1 and -3 is associated with worse outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, while high expression of Galectin-4 and -9 is associated with better outcomes. Serum Galectin-3 and -9 levels are positively associated with the risk of chronic liver diseases.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Monika Mullerova, Michaela Hovorkova, Tana Zavodna, Lucie Cervenkova Stastna, Alena Krupkova, Vojtech Hamala, Katerina Novakova, Jan Topinka, Pavla Bojarova, Tomas Strasak
Summary: Galectins and their carbohydrate ligands play a vital role in regulating various biological processes. Carbosilane dendrimers show promise as a nanoscaffold for presenting multivalent carbohydrate ligands to target galectin receptors. This study presents a synthetic method for lactose-functionalized carbosilane glycodendrimers and demonstrates their high affinity to galectin-9. Multivalent presentation of the ligand significantly enhances its inhibitory effect, as shown by the 1400-fold higher potency of the third-generation dendritic ligand compared to monovalent lactose. The increased affinity is attributed to the formation of stable galectin/lactose-functionalized carbosilane glycodendrimer aggregates.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nishant V. Sewgobind, Sanne Albers, Roland J. Pieters
Summary: Galectin-7 is a soluble lectin that binds specifically to beta-galactosides, involved in various biological processes such as apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, and migration. Understanding its physiological roles and potential as a drug target is crucial for developing inhibitors.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kei Kozawa, Miho Sekai, Kenji Ohba, Shoko Ito, Hiroaki Sako, Takeshi Maruyama, Mai Kakeno, Takanobu Shirai, Keisuke Kuromiya, Tomoko Kamasaki, Koki Kohashi, Shinya Tanaka, Susumu Ishikawa, Nanami Sato, Shota Asano, Hironori Suzuki, Nobuyuki Tanimura, Yohei Mukai, Noriko Gotoh, Mishie Tanino, Shinya Tanaka, Ken Natsuga, Tomoyoshi Soga, Tomonori Nakamura, Yukihiro Yabuta, Mitinori Saitou, Takahiro Ito, Kenkyo Matsuura, Makoto Tsunoda, Toyone Kikumori, Tadashi Iida, Yasuyuki Mizutani, Yuki Miyai, Kozo Kaibuchi, Atsushi Enomoto, Yasuyuki Fujita
Summary: COL17A1 and CD44 play crucial roles in regulating cell accumulation and metabolic pathways in the early stages of cancer development, suppressing ROS production and promoting multilayer structure formation. These proteins could be potential targets for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of precancerous lesions.
Article
Zoology
Jing Tian, Ruxuan He, Yimu Fan, Qianqian Zhang, Baolin Tian, Chunju Zhou, Chunyan Liu, Mingjing Song, Shunying Zhao
Summary: Damage to the integrity of the airway epithelium increases the risk of airway inflammation, with galectin-7 transgenic (+) mice exhibiting abnormal airway structures and cell apoptosis, leading to enhanced sensitivity and responsiveness in the airways.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shang-Chuen Wu, Nourine A. Kamili, Marcelo Dias-Baruffi, Cassandra D. Josephson, Matthew F. Rathgeber, Melissa Y. Yeung, William J. Lane, Jianmei Wang, Hau-Ming Jan, Seth Rakoff-Nahoum, Richard D. Cummings, Sean R. Stowell, Connie M. Arthur
Summary: Adaptive immunity is regulated by tolerogenic mechanisms, but it faces challenges in combating microbes that mimic self-antigens. A study shows that the innate immune lectin Galectin-7 (Gal-7) can recognize various microbes that display blood group-like antigens, leading to their loss of viability without causing harm to host cells.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yebing Liang, Yuxiang Wang, Xingyu Zhu, Jun Cai, Anqi Shi, Jing Huang, Qiuju Zhu, Yunlong Si
Summary: Glycerol is an intermediate in lipid metabolism and has been found to act as a chemical chaperone for protein conformation. This study investigates the role of glycerol in Gal-7 and demonstrates that glycerol increases the thermal stability of Gal-7 and inhibits erythrocyte agglutination. Crystal structures reveal glycerol binding sites in Gal-7, suggesting its potential as a ligand for Gal-7. Overexpression of Gal-7 also affects glycerol metabolism and triglyceride levels in cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Devaraj Ezhilarasan
Summary: Galectin-3 is a soluble protein that specifically binds to beta-galactoside carbohydrates and plays a key role in various pathophysiological processes. It has been implicated in liver diseases, including fatty liver diseases, inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Galectin-3 activates immune responses and promotes fibrogenesis in injured liver cells and stromal microenvironment, and it also affects cancer cell behavior. In clinical studies, increased levels of Galectin-3 have been observed in patients with liver diseases. This review focuses on the pathological role of Galectin-3 in the progression of chronic liver diseases.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Abbey Lightfoot, Helen M. McGettrick, Asif J. Iqbal
Summary: Leukocyte recruitment to the injury site is crucial for regulating inflammatory responses, and research on the immunoregulatory roles of galectin family members suggests that they could be a promising target for therapeutic intervention in inflammatory diseases. This review focuses on summarizing the current understanding of galectins in leukocyte trafficking during inflammation and the clinical approaches being developed to target these interactions for treating inflammatory diseases.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Rita Nehme, Yves St-Pierre
Summary: Although extracellular galectins have been extensively studied for their role in modulating tumor growth and metastasis, the importance of intracellular galectins in responding to the cellular environment is gaining attention. This review summarizes the recent knowledge of intracellular galectin functions in cancer cells and provides future strategies to inhibit their role in cancer progression.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruud P. M. Dings, Nigam Kumar, Sterling Mikkelson, Hans-Joachim Gabius, Kevin H. Mayo
Summary: The study found that members of the galectin family may exhibit more than additive effects in mixtures, prompting further investigation into their functional activities. Testing galectins in mixtures can simulate the situation of co-expression in situ and reveal unsuspected over-additive activities.
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS REPORTS
(2021)