Vasta Gerardo R, Feng Chiguang, González-Montalbán Nuria, Mancini Justin, Yang Lishi, Abernathy Kelsey, Frost Graeme, Palm Cheyenne
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, UMB, and Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, Columbus Center, 701 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA.
Pathog Dis. 2017 Jul 31;75(5). doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftx046.
Carbohydrate structures on the cell surface encode complex information that through specific recognition by carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) modulates interactions between cells, cells and the extracellular matrix, or mediates recognition of potential microbial pathogens. Galectins are a family of ß-galactoside-binding lectins, which are evolutionary conserved and have been identified in most organisms, from fungi to invertebrates and vertebrates, including mammals. Since their discovery in the 1970s, their biological roles, initially understood as limited to recognition of endogenous carbohydrate ligands in embryogenesis and development, have expanded in recent years by the discovery of their roles in tissue repair and regulation of immune homeostasis. More recently, evidence has accumulated to support the notion that galectins can also bind glycans on the surface of potentially pathogenic microbes, and function as recognition and effector factors in innate immunity, thus establishing a new paradigm. Furthermore, some parasites 'subvert' the recognition roles of the vector/host galectins for successful attachment or invasion. These recent findings have revealed a striking functional diversification in this structurally conserved lectin family.
细胞表面的碳水化合物结构编码着复杂信息，这些信息通过碳水化合物结合蛋白（凝集素）的特异性识别，调节细胞之间、细胞与细胞外基质之间的相互作用，或介导对潜在微生物病原体的识别。半乳糖凝集素是一类β-半乳糖苷结合凝集素，它们在进化过程中保守，已在从真菌到无脊椎动物和脊椎动物（包括哺乳动物）的大多数生物体中被鉴定出来。自20世纪70年代被发现以来，它们的生物学作用最初被认为仅限于在胚胎发生和发育过程中识别内源性碳水化合物配体，近年来随着它们在组织修复和免疫稳态调节中的作用被发现，其作用范围得到了扩展。最近，越来越多的证据支持这样一种观点，即半乳糖凝集素也可以结合潜在致病微生物表面的聚糖，并作为先天免疫中的识别和效应因子发挥作用，从而建立了一种新的模式。此外，一些寄生虫“颠覆”了载体/宿主半乳糖凝集素的识别作用，以实现成功附着或入侵。这些最新发现揭示了这个结构保守的凝集素家族中惊人的功能多样化。
