THE COMING OF AGE OF GALECTINS AS IMMUNOMODULATORY AGENTS: IMPACT OF THESE CARBOHYDRATE-BINDING PROTEINS IN T-CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS

JUAN M. ILARREGUI,; GERMAN A. BIANCO,; MARTA A. TOSCANO,; GABRIEL A. RABINOVICH

ANNALS OF THE RHEUMATIC DISEASES

British Medical Journals, EULAR

Lugar: Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Año: 2005 vol. 64 p. 96 - 103

0003-4967

Immune cell homeostasis is attributed to multiple distinct safety valves that are interconnected and intervene at defined checkpoints of the life cycle of immunocytes to guarantee clonal expansion and functional inactivation of self-reactive potentially autoaggressive lymphocytes. Galectins, animal lectins defined by shared consensus amino acid sequence and affinity for b-galactose-containing oligosaccharides, are found on various cells of the immune system, and their expression is associated with the differentiation and activation status of these cells. Over the past few years, galectins have been implicated in the regulation of many aspects of T-cell physiology such as cell activation, differentiation and apoptosis. In addition, a growing body of experimental evidence indicates that galectins may play critical roles in the modulation of chronic inflammatory disorders, autoimmunity and cancer. Given the increased interest of immunologists in this field, the growing body of information raised during the past few years and the potential use of galectins as novel anti-inflammatory agents or targets for immunosuppressive drugs, we will summarize recent advances on the role of galectins in different aspects of T-cell physiology and their impact in the development and/or resolution of chronic inflammatory disorders, autoimmunity and cancer.