Galectins functions

S. Akahani, P. Nangia-Makker, H. Inohara, H.-R. Kim, and A. Raz, Galectin-3 A novel antiapoptotic molecule with a functional BH1 (NHGR) domain of bcl-2 family, Cancer Res., 57 (1997) 5272-5276. 

Compounds with functional groups at this 3-position have been shown to have affinity for galectins. For example, Sorme et al. synthesized 12 N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc, 1) derivatives with C3 functionalization. Specifically, they generated a 3 -deoxy-3 -amino lactosamine derivative, which could be further modified via N-acylation or N-sulfonylation reactions [52], These compounds were tested for their ability to bind to galectin-3, a lectin proposed to participate in the formation of the immunological synapse between T cells and antigen-presenting cells [94]. Compounds with inhibitory... 

Schrbder, H.C., Boreiko, A., Korzhev, M., Tahir, M.N., Tremel, W., Eckert, C., Ushijima, H., Muller, I.M., MUller, W.E.G., 2006. Co-expression and functional interaction of silicatein with galectin matrix-guided formation of siliceous spicules in the marine demosponge Suberites domuncula. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 12001-12009. 

The aim of this chapter is to provide a concise overview of current knowledge about the structure and function of galectins. This will prepare the reader for the many new developments that we anticipate in this rapidly changing field. 

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