Galectins and their ligands: amplifiers, silencers or tuners of the inflammatory response? Evidence of a Novel Role for Galectin-1 in the generation of immune privilege

GABRIEL RABINOVICH

Shonan Village, Japan

Conferencia; INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF LECTINS (INTERLEC XXI); 2004

International Forum for Carbohydrate Research (FCCA)

Recent evidence has implicated galectins as novel regulators of immune cell homeostasis. Whereas some members of this family behave as amplifiers of the inflammatory cascade, others trigger homeostatic signals to shut-off T-cell effector functions. These carbohydrate-binding proteins, identified by shared consensus amino acid sequences and affinity for beta-galactoside-containing sugars, participate in the homeostasis of the inflammatory response, either by regulating cell survival and signaling, influencing cell growth and chemotaxis, interfering with cytokine secretion, mediating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions or influencing tumor progression and metastasis. During this presentations we will summarize the state-of-the-art of the effects of galectins in inflammatory and immunomodulatory processes. In particular we will highlight the effects of galectins in chronic inflammatory processes and its novel role in immune privilege and tumor-immune escape. The current wealth of new information promises a future scenario in which individual members of the galectin family or their specific antagonists will be used as powerful anti-inflammatory mediators and selective modulators of innate and adaptive immune responses.