Galectin

About: Galectin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2076 publications have been published within this topic receiving 103409 citations. The topic is also known as: IPR001079 & Galectin.

ERGIC-53 is a functional mannose-selective and calcium-dependent human homologue of leguminous lectins.

Abstract: Based on sequence homologies with leguminous lectins, the intermediate compartment marker ERGIC-53 was proposed to be a member of a putative new class of animal lectins associated with the secretory pathway. Independent, a promyelocytic protein, MR60, was purified by mannose-column chromatography, and a cDNA was isolated that matched MR60 peptide sequences. This cDNA was identical to that of ERGIC-53 and homologies with the animal lectin family of the galectins were noticed. Not all peptide sequences of MR60, however, were found in ERGIC-53, raising the possibility that another protein associated with ERGIC-53 may possess the lectin activity. Here, we provide the first direct evidence for a lectin function of ERGIC-53. Overexpressed ERGIC-53 binds to a mannose column in a calcium-dependent manner and also co-stains with mannosylated neoglycoprotein in a morphological binding assay. By using a sequential elution protocol we show that ERGIC-53 has selectivity for mannose and low affinity for glucose and GlcNAc, but no affinity for galactose. To experimentally address the putative homology of ERGIC-53 to leguminous lectins, a highly conserved protein family with an invariant asparagine essential for carbohydrate binding, we substituted the corresponding asparagine in ERGIC-53. This mutation, as well as a mutation affecting a second site in the putative carbohydrate recognition domain, abolished mannose-column binding and co-staining with mannosylated neoglycoprotein. These findings establish ERGIC-53 as a lectin and provide functional evidence for its relationship to leguminous lectins. Based on its monosaccharide specificity, domain organization, and recycling properties, we propose ERGIC-53 to function as a sorting receptor for glyco-proteins in the early secretory pathway.

Tim3 binding to galectin-9 stimulates antimicrobial immunity

Abstract: T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim3) is a negative regulatory molecule that inhibits effector TH1-type responses. Such inhibitory signals prevent unintended tissue inflammation, but can be detrimental if they lead to premature T cell exhaustion. Although the role of Tim3 in autoimmunity has been extensively studied, whether Tim3 regulates antimicrobial immunity has not been explored. Here, we show that Tim3 expressed on TH1 cells interacts with its ligand, galectin-9 (Gal9), which is expressed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis –infected macrophages to restrict intracellular bacterial growth. Tim3–Gal9 interaction leads to macrophage activation and stimulates bactericidal activity by inducing caspase-1–dependent IL-1β secretion. We propose that the TH1 cell surface molecule Tim3 has evolved to inhibit growth of intracellular pathogens via its ligand Gal9, which in turn inhibits expansion of effector TH1 cells to prevent further tissue inflammation.

Galectins are differentially expressed in supratentorial pilocytic astrocytomas, astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas, and significantly modulate tumor astrocyte migration.

Abstract: Galectins, a family of mammalian lectins with specificity to beta-galactosides, are involved in growth-regulatory mechanisms and cell adhesion. A relationship is assumed to exist between the levels of expression of galectins and the level of malignancy in human gliomas. A comparative study of this aspect in the same series of clinical samples is required to prove this hypothesis. Using computer-assisted microscopy, we quantitatively characterized by immunohistochemistry the levels of expression of galectins-1, -3 and -8 in 116 human astrocytic tumors of grades I to IV. Extent of transcription of galectins-1, -3, and -8 genes was investigated in 8 human glioblastoma cell lines by means of RT-PCR techniques. Three of these cell lines were grafted into the brains of nude mice in order to characterize in vivo the galectins-1, -3 and -8 expression in relation to the patterns of the tumor invasion of the brain. The role of galectin-1, -3 and -8 in tumor astrocyte migration was quantitatively determined in vitro by means of computer-assisted phase-contrast videomicroscopy. The data indicate that the levels of galectin-1 and galectin-3 expression significantly change during the progression of malignancy in human astrocytic tumors, while that of galectin-8 remains unchanged. These three galectins are involved in tumor astrocyte invasion of the brain parenchyma since their levels of expression are higher in the invasive parts of xenografted glioblastomas than in their less invasive parts. Galectin-3, galectin-1, and to a lesser extent galectin-8, markedly stimulate glioblastoma cell migration in vitro. Since bands for the transcripts of human galectins-2, -4 and -9 were apparently less frequent and intense in the 8 human glioblastoma cell lines, this system provides an excellent model to assign defined roles to individual galectins and delineate overlapping and distinct functional aspects.