Department of Tumor Pathology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu 501-1194, Japan.
Medical Science Division, United Graduate School of Drug Discovery and Medical Information Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
Biomolecules. 2020 Mar 3;10(3):389. doi: 10.3390/biom10030389.
Galectin-3 is a β-galactoside-binding lectin which is important in numerous biological activities in various organs, including cell proliferation, apoptotic regulation, inflammation, fibrosis, and host defense. Galectin-3 is predominantly located in the cytoplasm and expressed on the cell surface, and then often secreted into biological fluids, like serum and urine. It is also released from injured cells and inflammatory cells under various pathological conditions. Many studies have revealed that galectin-3 plays an important role as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker for certain types of heart disease, kidney disease, viral infection, autoimmune disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and tumor formation. In particular, it has been recognized that galectin-3 is extremely useful for detecting many of these diseases in their early stages. The purpose of this article is to review and summarize the recent literature focusing on the biomarker characteristics and long-term outcome predictions of galectin-3, in not only patients with various types of diseases, but associated animal models.
半乳糖凝集素-3 是一种 β-半乳糖苷结合凝集素，在包括细胞增殖、凋亡调节、炎症、纤维化和宿主防御在内的各种器官的许多生物学活性中具有重要作用。半乳糖凝集素-3 主要位于细胞质中，并在细胞表面表达，然后通常分泌到生物体液中，如血清和尿液。它也从受伤细胞和各种病理条件下的炎症细胞中释放出来。许多研究表明，半乳糖凝集素-3 作为某些类型心脏病、肾病、病毒感染、自身免疫性疾病、神经退行性疾病和肿瘤形成的诊断或预后生物标志物发挥着重要作用。特别是，已经认识到半乳糖凝集素-3 在检测这些疾病的早期阶段非常有用。本文的目的是综述和总结半乳糖凝集素-3 的生物标志物特征和长期预后预测的最新文献，不仅关注各种类型疾病的患者，还关注相关的动物模型。
