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About Galectin-3

Galectins are a group of proteins that bind to a class of carbohydrates know as beta-galactosides.  Galectins play an important and complex role in intracellular pathways and disease mechanisms. Since 1994, scientists working in the field of carbohydrate-binding proteins have so far identified a total of 15 galectins.

Galectin-3

Galectin-3 is a mid-size protein (29 to 35 kDa) consisting of an N-terminal domain with of tandem repeats of short amino acid segments (a total of 110-130 amino acids) linked to a single C-terminal CRD of about 130 amino acids.

Galectin-3 is widely distributed in tissues and found in epithelial cells, fibroblasts, dendritic cells, and inflammatory cells. In many cells, galectin-3 is present in the cytoplasm, nucleus and also in subcellular structures, such as mitochondria, phagosomes, and exosomes, under specific conditions. It is also secreted by various cell types, including monocytes, macrophages, and epithelial cells. Once outside the cell, galectin-3 binds to a large number of different glycoconjugates on the cell surfaces and extracellular matrices.

Galectin-3 is the only member of the galectin family that can form dimers through intermolecular interactions involving the N-terminal domain. Galectin-3 dimers can cross-link cell surface glycoproteins of various cells, causing cell activation. They can also mediate cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion by serving as a bridge to bind cells together or cells to extracellular matrix proteins. Moreover, they can induce migration of a number of different cell types, including monocytes, macrophages, and endothelial cells.

Further Reading:

  1. Almkvist J, Karlsson A. Galectins as inflammatory mediators. Glycoconj J. 2004;19:575-81.
  2. Barondes SH, Castronovo V, Cooper DN, et al. A family of animal beta-galactoside-binding lectins. Cell. 1994;76:597-8.
  3. Cooper DN. Galectinomics: Finding themes in complexity. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2002;1572:209-31.
  4. Yang RY, Rabinovich GA, Liu FT. Galectins: Structure, function and therapeutic potential. Expert Rev Mol Med. 2008;13:e17-e39.

For a complete list of related readings, please see our Bibliography.