Regulation of galectins by hypoxia and their relevance in angiogenesis: strategies and methods.

Formation of an aberrant and heterogeneous vascular network is a key pathological event in the multistep process of tumor growth and metastasis. Pro-angiogenic factors are synthesized and released from tumor, stromal, endothelial, and myeloid cells in response to hypoxic and immunosuppressive microenvironments which are commonly found during cancer progression. Emerging data indicate key roles for galectins, particularly galectin-1, -3, -8, and -9 in the regulation of angiogenesis in different pathophysiologic settings. Each galectin interacts with a preferred set of glycosylated receptors, triggers different signaling pathway, and promotes sprouting angiogenesis through different mechanisms. Understanding the role of galectins in tumor neovascularization will contribute to the design of novel anti-angiogenic therapies aimed at complementing current clinical approaches. Here we describe selected strategies and methods used to study the galectin-1 regulation by hypoxia and its role in blood vessel formation.