Galectin-3 in cancer

The Two Faces of Galectin-3: Roles in Various Pathological Conditions

“…The cell-and tissue-specific profiles of Galectin-3 expression differ under physiological and pathological conditions (14,109,110); they can undergo a variety of changes under the stress conditions encountered in tumour microenvironments, inflammation or fibrosis. Divergent specificities and affinities of Galectin-3 for various glycoproteins appear to contribute to the multiplicity of its activities.…”

Galectin-1 and galectin-3: Plausible tumour markers for oral squamous cell carcinoma and suitable targets for screening high-risk population

“…In a cell galectins are synthesized in the cytoplasm and transported to the nucleus, possibly via both active transport and passive diffusion, or may be secreted through a non-classical pathway [11]. These proteins have been associated with different cellular events in inflammation and cancer including cellular transformation, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, cell adhesion, cell migration and angiogenesis [12][13][14][15].…”

“…Gene and protein expression profiles have led to the identification of 15 kDa gal-1 and 35 kDa gal-3 as typical proteins that are up regulated in plethora of primary and metastatic tumours [13,15,16]. Over expression of gal-1 and gal-3 has been documented in head and neck cancers including oral squamous cell carcinoma [17][18][19][20][21]; however their role in oral carcinogenesis has not been clearly defined.…”

Galectin‑3 rs4652 A>C polymorphism is associated with the risk of gastric carcinoma and P‑glycoprotein expression level

“…Studies have demonstrated the biological and drug response alterations associated with galectin-3 SNPs in cancer (22); however, only a limited number of studies have investigated the function of galectin-3 rs4644 and rs4652 polymorphisms in the susceptibility and chemotherapeutic drug resistance of GC. Galectin-3 functional genetic variations may contribute to the development and chemotherapy response of GC.…”