Funasaka Tatsuyoshi, Raz Avraham, Nangia-Makker Pratima
Nanzando Pharmacies Co., Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0074, Japan.
Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, United States.
Semin Cancer Biol. 2014 Aug;27:30-8. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2014.03.004. Epub 2014 Mar 19.
Galectin-3, a member of β-galactoside-binding gene family is a multi-functional protein, which regulates pleiotropic biological functions such as cell growth, cell adhesion, cell-cell interactions, apoptosis, angiogenesis and mRNA processing. Its unique structure enables it to interact with a plethora of ligands in a carbohydrate dependent or independent manner. Galectin-3 is mainly a cytosolic protein, but can easily traverse the intracellular and plasma membranes to translocate into the nucleus, mitochondria or get externalized. Depending on the cell type, specific experimental conditions in vitro, cancer type and stage, galectin-3 has been reported to be exclusively cytoplasmic, predominantly nuclear or distributed between the two compartments. In this review we have summarized the dynamics of galectin-3 shuttling between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, the nuclear transport mechanisms of galectin-3, how its specific interactions with the members of β-catenin signaling pathways affect tumor progression, and its implications as a therapeutic target.
半乳糖凝集素-3是β-半乳糖苷结合基因家族的成员，是一种多功能蛋白质，可调节多种生物学功能，如细胞生长、细胞黏附、细胞间相互作用、细胞凋亡、血管生成和mRNA加工。其独特的结构使其能够以依赖或不依赖碳水化合物的方式与大量配体相互作用。半乳糖凝集素-3主要是一种胞质蛋白，但可以很容易地穿过细胞内和质膜，转移到细胞核、线粒体或外化。根据细胞类型、体外特定实验条件、癌症类型和阶段，据报道半乳糖凝集素-3仅存在于细胞质中、主要存在于细胞核中或分布于这两个区室之间。在这篇综述中，我们总结了半乳糖凝集素-3在细胞核和细胞质之间穿梭的动态过程、半乳糖凝集素-3的核转运机制、其与β-连环蛋白信号通路成员的特异性相互作用如何影响肿瘤进展，以及其作为治疗靶点的意义。
