Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Silesian Medical University, Katowice 40-027, Poland.
Department of Biochemistry, Silesian Medical University, Katowice 40-752, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Jan 10;19(1):210. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010210.
The incidence and mortality of cancer have increased over the past decades. Significant progress has been made in understanding the underpinnings of this disease and developing therapies. Despite this, cancer still remains a major therapeutic challenge. Current therapeutic research has targeted several aspects of the disease such as cancer development, growth, angiogenesis and metastases. Many molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unknown and current therapies have so far failed to meet their intended potential. Recent studies show that glycans, especially oligosaccharide chains, may play a role in carcinogenesis as recognition patterns for galectins. Galectins are members of the lectin family, which show high affinity for β-galactosides. The galectin-glycan conjugate plays a fundamental role in metastasis, angiogenesis, tumor immunity, proliferation and apoptosis. Galectins' action is mediated by a structure containing at least one carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). The potential prognostic value of galectins has been described in several neoplasms and helps clinicians predict disease outcome and determine therapeutic interventions. Currently, new therapeutic strategies involve the use of inhibitors such as competitive carbohydrates, small non-carbohydrate binding molecules and antibodies. This review outlines our current knowledge regarding the mechanism of action and potential therapy implications of galectins in cancer.
在过去几十年中，癌症的发病率和死亡率一直在上升。在理解这种疾病的基础和开发疗法方面已经取得了重大进展。尽管如此，癌症仍然是一个主要的治疗挑战。目前的治疗研究针对疾病的几个方面，如癌症的发展、生长、血管生成和转移。许多分子和细胞机制仍然未知，目前的治疗方法迄今为止未能发挥其预期的潜力。最近的研究表明，糖链，特别是寡糖链，可能在癌症发生中起作用，作为半乳糖凝集素的识别模式。半乳糖凝集素是凝集素家族的成员，对β-半乳糖苷具有高亲和力。半乳糖凝集素-糖缀合物在转移、血管生成、肿瘤免疫、增殖和凋亡中起着基本作用。半乳糖凝集素的作用是通过至少包含一个碳水化合物识别结构域（CRD）的结构介导的。半乳糖凝集素在几种肿瘤中的潜在预后价值已被描述，并有助于临床医生预测疾病结局并确定治疗干预措施。目前，新的治疗策略包括使用抑制剂，如竞争性碳水化合物、小非碳水化合物结合分子和抗体。本文综述了我们对半乳糖凝集素在癌症中的作用机制和潜在治疗意义的现有知识。
