The selectins and their ligands.

The selectins are a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins, or lectins, that have stimulated tremendous interest because of their involvement in a wide array of interactions between leukocytes and endothelial cells. Highlights of recent progress include an extension of the list of instances of selectin participation in inflammatory diseases, further definition of selectin carbohydrate specificities, and identification of their carbohydrate-based ligands.