Increased serum levels of Galectin‑9 in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Abstract

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in adults. Despite improvements in treatment, CLL is still considered an incurable disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate galectin-1, −3 and −9 (Gal-1, −3 and −9) and Gal-3 binding protein (Gal-3BP) as prognostic and predictive factors in patients with CLL. Serum concentrations of Gal-1, −3 and −9 and Gal-3BP were measured in 48 patients with CLL and 30 control patients, using multiplex bead arrays. In patients with CLL, galectin concentrations were assessed prior to, during and following treatment. In patients with CLL who were untreated, galectin concentrations were measured twice with a 6-month interval. The serum level of Gal-9 was significantly increased (P<0.0001) in patients with CLL compared with the control group, and was associated with the clinical stage according to Binet classification, as well as poor cytogenetic and serum CLL prognostic factors. In addition, patients with CLL, who exhibited treatment failure, exhibited higher concentrations of Gal-9 (P=0.06) and Gal-3BP (P=0.009) at the end of the treatment when compared with patients under complete remission or stabilization of the disease. The serum level of Gal-3 was significantly decreased (P=0.012) in patients with CLL compared with the control group. These results suggest that Gal-9 is a potential prognostic factor in patients with CLL. The predictive value of Gal-9 requires further study in larger cohorts of patients.

Design, Synthesis, and Anticancer Activity of a Selenium-Containing Galectin-3 and Galectin-9N Inhibitor

“…Recent studies have reported high expression of Gal-3 and Gal-9 in different tumors such as glioma [ 67 , 68 ], ovariancarcinoma [ 69 ], pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [ 70 ], chronic lymphocytic leukemia [ 71 ], and melanoma [ 23 ]. Given the implication of Gal-3 and Gal-9 in metabolic pathways that regulate tumor progression, we designed and synthesized a new molecule, SeDG-Bn, able to bind Gal-3 CRD and Gal-9N CRD and affect tumor cell mobility, invasion, and angiogenesis.…”

T‐helper cell regulation of CD45 phosphatase activity by galectin‐1 and CD43 governs chronic lymphocytic leukaemia proliferation

“…Interestingly, another study on galectin levels in CLL found galectin-1 unchanged, galectin-3 reduced, and galectin-9 elevated in patient serum compared to healthy individuals. 46 The disparity between these two studies regarding galectin-1 is not readily apparent but could be linked to glycosylation status of the binding partners as only serum galectin levels were analysed. However, galectin-3 and galectin-9 may warrant further study in our system as both these galectins are shown to bind CD45, 47,48 although galectin-9 was identified as a negative regulator of BCR signalling.…”

Unraveling How Tumor-Derived Galectins Contribute to Anti-Cancer Immunity Failure

“…Simultaneously, tumors produce large amounts of galectins (mainly galectins -1, -3, -7, -8, and -9). As already stated, increased levels of galectins in patients' sera have been reported for several cancer types [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. In such conditions of abundant production and secretion, galectins circulate through biological fluids and reach the thymus.…”

“…As a consequence, increased levels of these galectins are detected in the sera of cancer patients. Until mid-2021, more than 55 independent studies have been recorded in this field (here, and due to space limitations, we only cite some examples on each galectin member [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]).…”