Galectins in intestinal inflammation: Galectin-1 expression delineates response to treatment in celiac disease patients

SUNDBLAD, VICTORIA; QUINTAR, AMADO A.; MOROSI, LUCIANO; NIVELONI, SONIA ; CABANNE, ANA; SMECUOL, EDGARDO; MAURIÑO, EDUARDO; MARIÑO, KARINA V.; BAI, JULIO C. ; MALDONADO, CRISTINA A.; RABINOVICH, GABRIEL A.

Frontiers in Immunology

Frontiers

Lugar: Lausanne; Año: 2018

Galectins, a family of animal lectins characterized by their affinity for N-acetyllactosamine-enriched glycoconjugates, modulateseveral immune cell processes shaping the course of innate and adaptive immune responses. Through interaction with a widerange of glycosylated receptors bearing complex branched N-glycans and core 2-O-glycans, these endogenous lectins trigger distinctsignaling programs thereby controling immune cell activation, differentiation, recruitment and survival. Given the unique featuresof mucosal inflammation and the differential expression of galectins throughout the gastrointestinal tract, we discuss here keyfindings on the role of galectins in intestinal inflammation, particularly Crohn´s disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and celiacdisease (CeD) patients, as well as in murine models resembling these inflammatory conditions. In addition, we present new datahighlighting the regulated expression of galectin-1 (Gal-1), a proto-type member of the galectin family, during intestinalinflammation in untreated and treated CeD patients. Our results unveil a substantial up-regulation of Gal-1 accompanying theanti-inflammatory and tolerogenic response associated with gluten-free diet (GFD) in CeD patients, suggesting a major role of thislectin in favoring resolution of inflammation and restoration of mucosal homeostasis. Thus, a coordinated network of galectins andtheir glycosylated ligands, exerting either anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory responses, may influence the interplay betweenintestinal epithelial cells and the highly specialized gut immune system in physiologic and pathologic settings.