Abstract

Galectins are a family of animal lectins with diverse biological activities. They function both extracellularly, by interacting with cell-surface and extracellular matrix glycoproteins and glycolipids, and intracellularly, by interacting with cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins to modulate signalling pathways. Current research indicates that galectins have important roles in cancer; they contribute to neoplastic transformation, tumour cell survival, angiogenesis and tumour metastasis. They can modulate the immune and inflammatory responses and might have a key role helping tumours to escape immune surveillance. How do the different members of the Galectin family contribute to these diverse aspects of tumour biology?

Author affiliations

1. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California, USA.
2. Division of Immunogenetics, Hospital de Cl'nicas, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Correspondence to: Fu-Tong Liu¹ Email: fliu@ucdavis.edu

Correspondence to: Gabriel A. Rabinovich² Email: gabyrabi@ciudad.com.ar

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