Modulation of endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis by galectin-8.

CÁRDENAS DELGADO, VICTOR M.; COLOMBO, LUCAS L.; TRONCOSO, MARÍA F.; NUGNES, LORENA G.; FRAHM, ISABEL; CROCI, DIEGO O.; RABINOVICH, GABRIEL; WOLFENSTEIN-TODEL, CARLOTA; ELOLA, MARÍA T.

Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Simposio; International Master Program in Biomedical Sciences (IMBS) Symposium 2 - The Kohler-Milstein Conference - Posters. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Universidad de Buenos Aires.; 2009

International Master Program in Biomedical Sciences (IMBS) Symposium 2 - The Köhler-Milstein Conference - Posters. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Angiogenesis, the growth of new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels, is a complex process involving endothelial cell (EC) activation, disruption of vascular basement membranes, migration and proliferation of ECs. Glycan-mediated recognition has been proposed to play an instrumental role in mediating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Galectins (Gal), a family of glycan-binding proteins with affinity for â- galactosides and a conserved sequence motif, can decipher glycan-containing information and mediate cell-cell communication. Galectin-8 (Gal-8), a member of this family, is a bivalent ?tandem-repeat?-type galectin, which possesses two CRDs connected by a linker peptide. Here, we show that Gal-8 is endowed with proangiogeneic properties. Functional assays revealed a critical role for this lectin in the regulation of capillary-tube formation and EC migration. Moreover, matrigel, either supplemented with Gal-8 or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), injected in mice resulted in induction of in vivo angiogenesis. Remarkably, Gal-8 was expressed both in the cytoplasm and nucleus in ECs of normal and tumor vessels. Furthermore, CD166 (ALCAM, activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule) was identified as a specific Gal-8-binding partner in normal vascular ECs. Collectively, these data provide the first evidence demonstrating an essential role for Gal-8 in the regulation of angiogenesis with critical implications in tumor biology.