Galectins in Early Pregnancy and Pregnancy-Associated Pathologies

Krivokuća, Milica Jovanović; Vilotić, Aleksandra; Nacka-Aleksić, Mirjana; Pirković, Andrea; Ćujić, Danica; Legner, Janko; Dekanski, Dragana; Bojić‐Trbojević, Žanka

doi:10.3390/ijms23010069

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 151 publications

(291 reference statements)

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“…Moreover, Gal-13 and Gal-14 potentially regulate placental development through their induction of angiogenesis at the fetal-maternal interface [85]. Placental galectins also play a crucial role in regulating the mother's immune tolerance toward embedded embryos, and alterations in their expression levels are significantly associated with abnormal pregnancy and infertility [86, 87]. Gal-13 induces apoptosis of activated T cells in vitro, redirects and eliminates T cells and macrophages in the maternal decidua, and polarizes neutrophils toward a permissive phenotype for placental growth [46, 88].…”

Section: Functional Aspects Of Placental Galectinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Placental galectins: a subfamily of galectins lose the ability to bind β-galactosides with new structural features

Pei,

Zhu,

Wang

et al. 2023

Biology of Reproduction

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Galectins are a phylogenetically conserved family of soluble β-galactoside binding proteins. There are 16 different of galectins, each with a specific function determined by its distinct distribution and spatial structure. Galectin-13 (Gal-13), Galectin-14 (Gal-14), and Galectin-16 (Gal-16) are distinct from other galectin members in that they are primarily found in placental tissue. These galectins, also referred to as placental galectins, play critical roles in regulating pregnancy-associated processes, such as placenta formation and maternal immune tolerance to the embedded embryo. The unique structural characteristics and the inability to bind lactose of placental galectins have recently received significant attention. This review primarily examines the novel structural features of placental galectins, which distinguish them from the classic galectins. Furthermore, it explores the correlation between these structural features and the loss of β-galactoside binding ability. In addition, the newly discovered functions of placental galectins in recent years are also summarized in our review. A detailed understanding of the roles of placental galectins may contribute to the discovery of new mechanisms causing numerous pregnancy diseases and enable development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these diseases, ultimately benefiting the health of mothers and offspring.

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Section: Functional Aspects Of Placental Galectinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aberrant expression of placental galectins is associated with various pathologies, including GDM, PE, IUGR, and HELLP syndrome [86]. Gal-13, Gal-14, and Gal-16 are abundantly expressed in normal gestational placental tissue, with syncytiotrophoblast cells serving as the primary site of synthesis [43, 91].…”

Section: Functional Aspects Of Placental Galectinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Placental galectins: a subfamily of galectins lose the ability to bind β-galactosides with new structural features

Pei,

Zhu,

Wang

et al. 2023

Biology of Reproduction

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“…An intricate chemical chain reaction, which is controlled by endocrine, paracrine and autocrine regulators present in both the embryo and the mother, is essential to the progression of embryo implantation [ 92 ]. The results of in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that galectins are crucial mediators in the implantation process [ 93 ]. During embryo implantation, the enhanced expression of gal-1, -3 and -9 in endometrial epithelial cells reflect the galectins’ most crucial involvement in endometrial receptivity.…”

Section: The Role Of Galectins In the Maternal–fetal Interfacementioning

confidence: 99%

Galectins: Important Regulators in Normal and Pathologic Pregnancies

Chen

Shi

Zheng

et al. 2022

IJMS

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Galectins (Gal) are characterized by their affinity for galactoside structures on glycoconjugates. This relationship is mediated by carbohydrate recognition domains, which are multifunctional regulators of basic cellular biological processes with high structural similarity among family members. They participate in both innate and adaptive immune responses, as well as in reproductive immunology. Recently, the discovery that galectins are highly expressed at the maternal–fetal interface has garnerd the interest of experts in human reproduction. Galectins are involved in a variety of functions such as maternal–fetal immune tolerance, angiogenesis, trophoblast invasion and placental development and are considered to be important mediators of successful embryo implantation and during pregnancy. Dysregulation of these galectins is associated with abnormal and pathological pregnancies (e.g., preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth). Our work reviews the regulatory mechanisms of galectins in normal and pathological pregnancies and has implications for clinicians in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy-related diseases.

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“…21 In recent years, galectins have been identified as potential contributors to a variety of reproductive processes, such as blastocyst implantation, feto-maternal immunological tolerance, placental development, and angiogenesis. 22 Despite the fact that galectin functions are important determinants of healthy pregnancies, 23 galectins also play critical role in several pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, 24,25 recurrent spontaneous abortion, 26 ectopic pregnancy, 27 endometriosis. 28 Galectins are considered as the potential regulators of inflammation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Galectins are emerged as regulators of cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, signal transduction, mRNA splicing and interactions with the extracellular matrix 17 and involved in several diseases like cancer, 18 cardiovascular disease, 19 kidney disease 20 and lung disease 21 . In recent years, galectins have been identified as potential contributors to a variety of reproductive processes, such as blastocyst implantation, feto‐maternal immunological tolerance, placental development, and angiogenesis 22 . Despite the fact that galectin functions are important determinants of healthy pregnancies, 23 galectins also play critical role in several pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, 24,25 recurrent spontaneous abortion, 26 ectopic pregnancy, 27 endometriosis 28 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intronic variants of LGALS13 gene encoding placental protein (PP13) are linked with increased risk of infection‐associated spontaneous preterm birth

Bhati

Ray

Arora

et al. 2023

American J Rep Immunol

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ProblemSpontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) is a global health issue. Studies suggest infection and infection‐based inflammatory responses are major risk factors for sPTB. Considering the important role of anti‐inflammatory proteins in pregnancy, the study aimed to find the association between anti‐inflammatory LGALS13 gene variants IVS2‐22 A/G (rs2233706) and IVS3+72 T/A (rs2233708) and the risk of sPTB during Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum infection in Indian population.Method of studyPlacental samples of 160 sPTB and 160 term women were collected. Pathogens were detected by PCR. The genotyping of LGALS13 gene variants IVS2‐22 A/G (rs2233706) and IVS3+72 T/A (rs2233708) was done by qualitative real‐time PCR using allelic discrimination method (VIC‐ and FAM‐labeled).ResultsThe frequency of AG or GG genotype of LGALS13 IVS2‐22A/G polymorphism (rs2233706) was 75.5% in infected sPTB cases and 14.4% in uninfected sPTB cases and 7.3% in term birth controls (p < .0001), while the frequency of TA or AA genotype of LGALS13 IVS3+72T/A polymorphism (rs2233708) was 83.6% in infected sPTB cases and 18% in uninfected sPTB cases and 12.7% in term birth controls (p < .0001). The genotypic frequencies for both the variants of LGALS13 were statistically significant (p < .0001) in the infected sPTB versus uninfected sPTB and term birth controls.ConclusionsStudy reveals strong association between the presence of immunological gene variants LGALS13 IVS2‐22 A/G (rs2233706) and LGALS13 IVS3+72 T/A (rs2233708) and risk of sPTB during C. trachomatis, M. hominis and U. urealyticum infection.

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Galectins in Early Pregnancy and Pregnancy-Associated Pathologies

Cited by 14 publications

References 151 publications

Placental galectins: a subfamily of galectins lose the ability to bind β-galactosides with new structural features

Placental galectins: a subfamily of galectins lose the ability to bind β-galactosides with new structural features

Galectins: Important Regulators in Normal and Pathologic Pregnancies

Intronic variants of LGALS13 gene encoding placental protein (PP13) are linked with increased risk of infection‐associated spontaneous preterm birth

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