Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Mar 19;19(3):905. doi: 10.3390/ijms19030905.
Galectins are a family of small, highly conserved, molecular effectors that mediate various biological processes, including chemotaxis and angiogenesis, and that function by interacting with various cell surface glycoconjugates, usually targeting β-galactoside epitopes. Because of their significant involvement in various biological functions and pathologies, galectins have become a focus of therapeutic discovery for clinical intervention against cancer, among other pathological disorders. In this review, we focus on understanding galectin structure-function relationships, their mechanisms of action on the molecular level, and targeting them for therapeutic intervention against cancer.
半乳糖凝集素是一小家族高度保守的分子效应物，可介导多种生物学过程，包括趋化作用和血管生成，并通过与各种细胞表面糖缀合物相互作用来发挥作用，通常靶向β-半乳糖苷表位。由于它们在各种生物学功能和病理中的重要参与，半乳糖凝集素已成为治疗发现的焦点，用于针对癌症等病理疾病的临床干预。在这篇综述中，我们专注于理解半乳糖凝集素的结构-功能关系、它们在分子水平上的作用机制以及针对它们进行治疗干预以对抗癌症的靶向性。
