肿瘤相关糖基结合蛋白Galectin-3及其治疗性配体

糖类参与细胞间黏附、细胞与胞外基质黏附、细胞间特异性识别等过程.Galectin-3是哺乳动物体内存在的非酶类蛋白质,其结构上保守的碳水化合物识别结构域能优先与β-半乳糖苷类结构结合,参与生理生化反应.含有半乳糖苷或类似结构的物质,包括化学修饰糖类、功能多肽、天然改性糖类,作为galectin-3的配体,能不同程度地干预糖基和蛋白质的相互作用,抑制在肿瘤生长、侵袭和转移中具有重要作用的细胞间识别和黏附等过程.

Cancer-associated carbohydrate-binding protein galectin-3 and its therapeutic ligands

Carbohydrates are proved to be involved in recognition processes, including adhesion between cells, adhesion of cells to the extracellular matrix, and specific recognition of cells by one another. Galectin-3 is a nonenzymatic carbohydrate-binding protein present in mammals, whose conserved carbohydrate-recognition domain preferentially binds to specific carbohydrate structures and plays an important role in biological and biochemical reactions. Substances developed with the specific structure of beta-galactose moieties or their analogues, including chemically modified carbohydrates, functional peptides and modified natural polysaccharide, have been evaluated as potent therapeutic ligands for galectin-3 and showed at different level their ability to interfere with carbohydrate-protein interactions and therefore, inhibit the cell-cell recognition and adhesion processes, which play an important role in tumor growth, progression and metastasis.