How galectins have become multifunctional proteins.
Histol Histopathol
; 35(6): 509-539, 2020 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31922250
ABSTRACT
Having identified glycans of cellular glycoconjugates as versatile molecular messages, their recognition by sugar receptors (lectins) is a fundamental mechanism within the flow of biological information. This type of molecular interplay is increasingly revealed to be involved in a wide range of (patho)physiological processes. To do so, it is a vital prerequisite that a lectin (and its expression) can develop more than a single skill, that is the general ability to bind glycans. By studying the example of vertebrate galectins as a model, a total of five relevant characteristics is disclosed i) access to intra- and extracellular sites, ii) fine-tuned gene regulation (with evidence for co-regulation of counterreceptors) including the existence of variants due to alternative splicing or single nucleotide polymorphisms, iii) specificity to distinct glycans from the glycome with different molecular meaning, iv) binding capacity also to peptide motifs at different sites on the protein and v) diversity of modular architecture. They combine to endow these lectins with the capacity to serve as multi-purpose tools. Underscoring the arising broad-scale significance of tissue lectins, their numbers in terms of known families and group members have steadily grown by respective research that therefore unveiled a well-stocked toolbox. The generation of a network of (ga)lectins by evolutionary diversification affords the opportunity for additive/synergistic or antagonistic interplay in situ, an emerging aspect of (ga)lectin functionality. It warrants close scrutiny. The realization of the enormous potential of combinatorial permutations using the five listed features gives further efforts to understand the rules of functional glycomics/lectinomics a clear direction.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Temas:
Geral
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Galectinas
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Histol Histopathol
Assunto da revista:
HISTOLOGIA
/
PATOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha