Ogawa Takashi, Nonaka Yasuhiro, Shoji Hiroki, Nakamura Takanori
Department of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan.
Department of Genome Medical Science and Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan.
BBA Adv. 2025 Mar 15;7:100157. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadva.2025.100157. eCollection 2025.
Galectins are metal-independent sugar-binding proteins that recognize galactose (the β-galactoside structure) and regulate the cross-linking of sugar chains between cells and the extracellular matrix. Their specificity for galactose is attributed to their highly conserved carbohydrate recognition domain. Galectins participate in biological processes across species, including development, differentiation, morphogenesis, tumor progression, metastasis, immunity, and apoptosis. However, the relationship between the binding of galectin to sugar chains (glycans) and their biological functions remains unclear. Thus, a comprehensive functional analysis of galectins is required to better characterize their evolutionarily conserved and unique functions. We have previously identified and characterized 12 galectins (xgalectins), the only non-mammalian vertebrate species in which galectins have been comprehensively characterized to date. In this review, we present the latest findings on the types and functions of xgalectins and discuss prospects for elucidating their diverse functions from an evolutionary perspective through comparisons with mammalian galectins.
半乳糖凝集素是一类不依赖金属的糖结合蛋白，可识别半乳糖（β-半乳糖苷结构），并调节细胞与细胞外基质之间糖链的交联。它们对半乳糖的特异性归因于其高度保守的碳水化合物识别结构域。半乳糖凝集素参与跨物种的生物过程，包括发育、分化、形态发生、肿瘤进展、转移、免疫和细胞凋亡。然而，半乳糖凝集素与糖链（聚糖）结合与其生物学功能之间的关系仍不清楚。因此，需要对半乳糖凝集素进行全面的功能分析，以更好地描述其进化保守和独特的功能。我们之前已经鉴定并表征了12种半乳糖凝集素（x半乳糖凝集素），这是迄今为止唯一一种对半乳糖凝集素进行了全面表征的非哺乳动物脊椎动物物种。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了x半乳糖凝集素的类型和功能的最新发现，并通过与哺乳动物半乳糖凝集素的比较，从进化角度讨论了阐明其多样功能的前景。
