DISSECTING MOLECULAR DETERMINANTS OF THE GALECTIN-4 GLYCAN INTERACTIONS AND THEIR POTENTIAL RELEVANCE IN INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION

CAGNONI, ALEJANDRO J.; MANSELLE COCCO, MONTANA; CUTINE, ANABELA M.; RABINOVICH, GABRIEL A.; MARIÑO, KARINA V.; MASSARO, MORA; PÉREZ SAEZ, JUAN MANUEL

New York

Conferencia; Society of Glycobiology Meeting; 2020

Society of Glycobiology

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), including Crohn?s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, constitute a group of chronic inflammatory disorders that affect the gastrointestinal tract, in which the perpetual state of inflammation constitutes a risk factor for the development of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CACRC).In this context, and even though galectin-glycan interactions play a central role as a mediator of pathophysiological processes, their role in IBD and CACRC has been scarcely explored. Galectins, a family of evolutionary-conserved soluble lectins, are involved in immunomodulation, inflammation, pathogen recognition, tumor escape, resistance and metastasis. In particular, Galectin-4 (Gal-4), a tandem-repeat type galectin with two distinct carbohydrate recognition (CRD) domains is expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. This lectin exerts a predominantly pro-inflammatory role, stimulating T-cells and exacerbating inflammation via recognition of a colitis-associated aberrant glycome (Figure 1).