Galectins testing: New promises for the diagnosis and risk stratification of chronic diseases?

Galectins are carbohydrate binding proteins involved in several biological functions such as intracellular signaling, cell to cell interaction and exchanges between cells and the extracellular matrix. Galectins are therefore participating to the control of gene expression, the regulation of immune response and the control of cell growth and viability. Galectins have stimulated in one hand a great interest for their potent contribution to the physiopathology of several diseases and cancers and may represent in another hand relevant biomarkers to support the diagnosis and prognosis of several disorders. (C) 2012 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.