Galectins: an evolutionarily conserved family of animal lectins with multifunctional properties; a trip from the gene to clinical therapy

Galectins constitute a family of evolutionarily conserved animal lectins, w hich are defined by their affinity for poly-N-acetyllactosamine-enriched gl ycoconjugates and sequence similarities in the carbohydrate recognition dom ain. During the past decade, attempts to dissect the functional role for ga lectins in vivo have been unsuccessful in comparison to the overwhelming in formation reached at the biochemical and molecular levels. The present revi ew deals with the latest advances in galectin research and is aimed at vali dating the functional significance of these carbohydrate-binding proteins. Novel implications of galectins in cell adhesion, cell growth regulation, i mmunomodulation, apoptosis, inflammation, embryogenesis, metastasis and pre -mRNA splicing will be particularly discussed in a trip from the gene to th e clinical therapy. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in gal ectin functions will certainly open new avenues not only in biomedical rese arch, but also at the level of disease diagnosis and clinical intervention, attempting to delineate new therapeutic strategies in autoimmune diseases, inflammatory processes, allergic reactions and tumor spreading.