Galectins: a novel family of proteins involved in the regulation of the immune response. Implications in immunopathological processes.

Galectins have emerged as a new family of closely related carbohydrate-bind ing proteins, which exert their functions by virtue of their ability to dec ipher glycocodes on complex glycoconjugates. They have been implicated in d ifferent immunological processes, such as lymphocyte adhesion, cytokine pro duction, cell growth regulation, apoptosis and central and peripheral immun e tolerance. In the present article we analyze the implications of this pro tein family in different immune pathologies with up- or down-regulated immu ne responses, such as autoimmune disorders, acute and chronic inflammation, allergic diseases, infection and metastases. The use of recombinant galect ins or their antagonists will have future implications in the diagnosis, pr ognosis and treatment of these diseases, widening the horizons of molecular immunopathology.