Galectin-9 in physiological and pathological conditions

• Published in: Glycoconjugate journal Vol. 19; no. 7-9; pp. 593 - 600
• Main Authors: Hirashima, Mitsuomi, Kashio, Yumiko, Nishi, Nozomu, Yamauchi, Akira, Imaizumi, Tada-atsu, Kageshita, Toshiro, Saita, Naoki, Nakamura, Takanori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Nature B.V 2002
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Cell Physiological Phenomena; Eosinophils - metabolism; Galectins - biosynthesis; Galectins - chemistry; Galectins - metabolism; Humans; Neoplasms - diagnosis; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Proteins
• ISSN: 0282-0080; 1573-4986
• DOI: 10.1023/b:glyc.0000014090.63206.2f

We first cloned galectin-9 (Gal-9)/ecalectin as a T cell-derived eosinophil chemoattractant. Gal-9 plays a role in not only accumulation but also activation of eosinophils in experimental allergic models and human allergic patients, because Gal-9 induces eosinophil chemoattraction in vitro and in vivo and activates eosinophils in many aspects. Gal-9 requires divalent galactoside-binding activity but not the linker peptide of Gal-9 to exhibit its biological functions, and an unidentified matrix metalloproteinase is involved in the release of Gal-9. Our recent studies also showed that Gal-9 has other functions, such as cell differentiation, aggregation, adhesion, and death. Now, we and other groups are on the way of investigating the regulation and function of Gal-9 in a variety of physiological and pathological conditions. In this article, we will show the possible role of Gal-9 in physiological and pathological conditions by using our recent findings.