Turning 'sweet' on immunity: galectin–glycan interactions in immune tolerance and inflammation

The function of deciphering the biological information encoded by the glycome, which is the entire repertoire of complex sugar structures expressed by cells and tissues, is assigned in part to endogenous glycan-binding proteins or lectins. Galectins, a family of animal lectins that bind N-acetyllact...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Rabinovich, Gabriel Adrián, Toscano, Marta Alicia
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:Argentina
Recursos:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/24530
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/24530
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Glycoimmunology
Galectins
Adaptive Immunity
Tolerance
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
Descrição
Resumo:The function of deciphering the biological information encoded by the glycome, which is the entire repertoire of complex sugar structures expressed by cells and tissues, is assigned in part to endogenous glycan-binding proteins or lectins. Galectins, a family of animal lectins that bind N-acetyllactosamine-containing glycans, have many roles in diverse immune cell processes, including those relevant to pathogen recognition, shaping the course of adaptive immune responses and fine-tuning the inflammatory response. How do galectins translate glycan-encoded information into tolerogenic or inflammatory cell programmes? An improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying these functions will provide further opportunities for developing new therapies based on the immunoregulatory properties of this multifaceted protein family.