Castronovo V, Liu F T, van den Brule F A
Metastasis Research Laboratory, University Hospital, University of Liege, B-4000 Liege 1, Belgium.
Int J Oncol. 1999 Jul;15(1):67-70. doi: 10.3892/ijo.15.1.67.
Galectins are beta-galactoside-binding lectins that play multiple roles during tumor progression. Previous work conducted in our laboratory has demonstrated decreased galectin-3 expression in carcinomas from colon, breast, ovary and endometrium, compared to the corresponding normal tissues. In this study, we examined the pattern of galectin-3 expression by immunohistochemistry in a group of 10 basal cell carcinomas of the skin. In the surrounding normal skin, galectin-3 immunostaining was found predominantly in the middle epidermis (spine layer) and eccrine sweat glands. Compared to the normal epidermal cells, basal carcinoma cells observed in all 10 samples examined presented with significantly decreased galectin-3 immunostaining. These data further demonstrates that galectin-3 is down-regulated in a variety of human cancers, including basal cell carcinoma.
半乳糖凝集素是一类β-半乳糖苷结合凝集素，在肿瘤进展过程中发挥多种作用。我们实验室之前的研究表明，与相应的正常组织相比，结肠癌、乳腺癌、卵巢癌和子宫内膜癌中的半乳糖凝集素-3表达降低。在本研究中，我们通过免疫组织化学方法检测了一组10例皮肤基底细胞癌中半乳糖凝集素-3的表达模式。在周围正常皮肤中，半乳糖凝集素-3免疫染色主要见于表皮中层（棘层）和小汗腺。与正常表皮细胞相比，在所有10个检测样本中观察到的基底癌细胞呈现出半乳糖凝集素-3免疫染色显著降低。这些数据进一步证明，半乳糖凝集素-3在包括基底细胞癌在内的多种人类癌症中表达下调。
