期刊
WORLD JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
卷 19, 期 47, 页码 8831-8849出版社
BAISHIDENG PUBLISHING GROUP INC
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i47.8831
关键词
Galectins; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Inflammation-associated liver injury; Hepatitis B or C virus infection-associated hepatocellular carcinoma; Fibrosis-related liver pathologies
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a global health problem. Infections with hepatitis B or C virus, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis disease, alcohol abuse, or dietary exposure to aflatoxin are the major risk factors to the development of this tumor. Regardless of the carcinogenic insult, HCC usually develops in a context of cirrhosis due to chronic inflammation and advanced fibrosis. Galectins are a family of evolutionarily-conserved proteins defined by at least one carbohydrate recognition domain with affinity for beta-galactosides and conserved sequence motifs. Here, we summarize the current literature implicating galectins in the pathogenesis of HCC. Expression of proto-type galectin-1, chimera-type galectin-3 and tandem repeat-type galectin-4 is up-regulated in HCC cells compared to their normal counterparts. On the other hand, the tandem-repeat-type lectins galectin-8 and galectin-9 are down-regulated in tumor hepatocytes. The abnormal expression of these galectins correlates with tumor growth, HCC cell migration and invasion, tumor aggressiveness, metastasis, postoperative recurrence and poor prognosis. Moreover, these galectins have important roles in other pathological conditions of the liver, where chronic inflammation and/or fibrosis take place. Galectin-based therapies have been proposed to attenuate liver pathologies. Further functional studies are required to delineate the precise molecular mechanisms through which galectins contribute to HCC. (C) 2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
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