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Query: UNIPROT:P17931 (galectin-3)
2,860 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Galectin-3 is a member (if a large family of beta-galactoside-binding animal lectins. It has been shown that the expression of galectin-3 is upregulated in proliferating cells, suggesting a possible role for this lectin in regulation of cell growth. Previously, we have shown that T cells infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type I express high levels of galectin-3, in contrast to uninfected cells, which do not express detectable amounts of this protein. In this study, we examined growth properties of human leukemia T cells transfected with galectin-3 cDNA, and thus constitutively overexpressing this lectin. Transfectants expressing galectin-3 displayed higher growth rates than control transfectants, which do not express this lectin. Furthermore, galectin-3 expression in these cells confers resistance to apoptosis induced by anti-Fas antibody and staurosporine. Galectin-3 was found to have significant sequence similarity with Bcl-2, a well-characterized suppressor of apoptosis. In particular, the lectin contains the NWGR motif that is highly conserved among members of the Bcl-2 family and shown to be critical for the apoptosis-suppressing activity. We further demonstrated that galectin-3 interacts with Bc1-2 in a lactose-inhibitable manner. We conclude that galectin-3 is a regulator of cell growth and apoptosis and it may function through a cell death inhibition pathway that involves Bcl-2.
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PMID:Expression of galectin-3 modulates T-cell growth and apoptosis. 869 88

Galectin-3, a beta-galactoside-binding protein, has been shown to be involved in tumor progression and metastasis. Here, we demonstrate that expression of galectin-3 in human breast carcinoma BT549 cells inhibits cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (cisplatin)-induced poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase degradation and apoptosis, without altering Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), or Bax expressions. Galectin-3 contains the NWGR amino acid sequence highly conserved in the BH1 domain of the bcl-2 gene family, and a substitution of glycine to alanine in this motif abrogated its antiapoptotic activity. Our findings demonstrate that galectin-3 inhibits apoptosis through a cysteine protease pathway and highlight the functional significance of the NWGR motif in apoptosis resistance of a non-Bcl-2 protein.
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PMID:Galectin-3: a novel antiapoptotic molecule with a functional BH1 (NWGR) domain of Bcl-2 family. 939 48

CBP70 is a glycoslylated lectin that interacts through either glycan-lectin or protein-protein interactions. In addition, depending on its cellular localization, this lectin has different partners, for example, galectin-3, an 82-kDa ligand in the nucleus, or Bcl-2 in the cytoplasm. In this study, we observed the persistence of plurilocalized lectin CBP70 after two heat-shock treatments conducted either under mild conditions, i.e., incubating the cells for 1 h at 42 degrees C then for 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 h at 37 degrees C, or harsh conditions, i.e., incubation at 42 degrees C for 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 h. By combining the information collected from biochemical, fluorocytometric, confocal, and affinity-chromatography analyses, we concluded that CBP70 persisted in HL60 cells and its N-acetylglucosamine-binding sites remained active after all the heat-shock treatments tested. These data and the previously published findings reviewed in this report concur in supporting the hypothesis that CBP70 could function as an organizer of multimeric assembly, leading to the formation of various complexes in different cellular compartments, according to the needs of the cell.
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PMID:Stable expression of functional CBP70 lectin during heat shock. 1077 17

The subcellular plurilocalization of some lectins (galectin-1, galectin-3, galectin-10, calreticulin, etc.) is an intriguing problem, implying different partners according to their localization, and involvement in a variety of cellular activities. For example, the well-known lectin, galectin-3, a lactose-binding protein, can act inside the nucleus in splicing events, and at the plasma membrane in adhesion, and it was demonstrated that galectin-3 interacts in the cytoplasm with Bcl-2, an antiapoptotic protein. Some years ago, our group isolated a nuclear lectin CBP70, capable of recognizing N-acetylglucosamine residues. This lectin, first isolated from the nucleus of HL60 cells, was also localized in the cytoplasm. It has been demonstrated that CBP70 is a glycosylated lectin, with different types of glycosylation, comparing cytoplasmic and nuclear forms. In this article, we have studied the localization of CBP70 in undifferentiated HL60 cells by electron microscopy, immunofluorescence analysis, and subcellular fractionation. The results obtained clearly demonstrated that CBP70 is a plurilocalized lectin that is found in the nucleus, at the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, and mitochondria, but not at the plasma membrane. Because CBP70, a nuclear glycoprotein, was found to be associated also with the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus where the glycosylation take place, it raised the question: where does the glycosylation of nuclear proteins occur?
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PMID:Glycosylated nuclear lectin CBP70 also associated with endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus: does the "classic pathway" of glycosylation also apply to nuclear glycoproteins? 1086 61

Galectin-3 is a carbohydrate binding protein involved in multiple processes including cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis. The ability of galectin-3 to protect cells from apoptosis is dependent upon a region of the protein known as a BH-1 domain for its homology to the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Here, we show that a monoclonal antibody (MAb) to the human tumor suppressor protein p16INK4A recognizes a post-translationally modified form of human galectin-3. The modified form is detectable in only a subset of cell types expressing galectin-3, indicating that the modification is cell-type-specific. Although there is little amino acid sequence homology between p16INK4a and galectin-3, we show by epitope mapping that the modification directly affects the structure of galectin-3's BH-1 domain. Elucidation of the nature of this modification might provide further insight into galectin-3 function.
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PMID:An antibody to p16INK4A recognizes a modified form of galectin-3. 1146 65

Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a member of the beta-galactoside binding protein family containing the NWGR antideath motif of the Bcl-2 protein family, is involved in various aspects of cancer progression. Previously, it has been shown that the antiapoptotic activity of Gal-3 is regulated by the phosphorylation at Ser(6) by casein kinase 1 (CK1). Here we questioned how phosphorylation at Ser(6) regulates Gal-3 function. We have generated serine-to-alanine (S6A) and serine-to-glutamic acid (S6E) Gal-3 mutants and transfected them into the BT-549 human breast carcinoma cell line, which does not express Gal-3. BT-549 cell clones expressing wild-type (wt) and mutant Gal-3 were exposed to chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs. In response to the apoptotic insults, phosphorylated wt Gal-3 was exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and protected the BT-549 cells from drug-induced apoptosis while nonphosphorylated mutant Gal-3 neither was exported from the nucleus nor protected BT-549 cells from drug-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, leptomycin B, a nuclear export inhibitor, increased the cisplatin-induced apoptosis of Gal-3 expressing BT-549 cells. These results suggest that Ser(6) phosphoryaltion acts as a molecular switch for its cellular translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and, as a result, regulates the antiapoptotic activity of Gal-3.
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PMID:Nuclear export of phosphorylated galectin-3 regulates its antiapoptotic activity in response to chemotherapeutic drugs. 1512 58

Studies of CD95 (APO-1/Fas), a member of the death receptor family, have revealed that it is involved in two primary CD95 apoptotic signaling pathways, one regulated by the large amount of active caspase-8 (type I) formed at the death-inducing signaling complex and the other by the apoptogenic activity of mitochondria (type II). To date, it is still unclear which pathway will be activated in response to an apoptotic insult. Here, we demonstrate that the antiapoptotic molecule galectin-3, which contains the four amino acid-anti-death-motif (NWGR) conserved in the BH1 domain of the Bcl-2 member proteins, is expressed only in type I cells. Transfection of galectin-3 cDNA into galectin-3 null cells (type II) resulted converting them to type I apoptotic phenotype. In addition, we show that galectin-3 is complexed with CD95 in vivo identifying galectin-3 as a novel CD95-binding partner that determines which of the CD95 apoptotic signaling pathways the cell will select.
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PMID:Endogenous galectin-3 determines the routing of CD95 apoptotic signaling pathways. 1515 87

This review summarizes studies on lectins that have been documented to be in the cytoplasm and nucleus of cells. Of these intracellular lectins, the most extensively studied are members of the galectin family. Galectin-1 and galectin-3 have been identified as pre-mRNA splicing factors in the nucleus, in conjunction with their interacting ligand, Gemin4. Galectin-3, -7, and -12 regulate growth, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. Bcl-2 and synexin have been identified as interacting ligands of galectin-3, involved in its anti-apoptotic activity in the cytoplasm. Although the annexins have been studied mostly as calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding proteins mediating membrane-membrane and membrane-cytoskeleton interactions, annexins A4, A5 and A6 also bind to carbohydrate structures. Like the galectins, certain members of the annexin family can be found both inside and outside cells. In particular, annexins A1, A2, A4, A5, and A11 can be found in the nucleus. This localization is consistent with the findings that annexin A1 possesses unwinding and annealing activities of a helicase and that annexin A2 is associated with a primer recognition complex that enhances the activity of DNA polymerase alpha. Despite these efforts and accomplishments, however, there is little evidence or information on an endogenous carbohydrate ligand for these lectins that show nuclear and/or cytoplasmic localization. Thus, the significance of the carbohydrate-binding activity of any particular intracellular lectin remains as a challenge for future investigations.
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PMID:Nucleocytoplasmic lectins. 1523 51

The synthetic retinoid N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4HPR) induces apoptosis in a variety of human cancer cells including breast carcinoma and this property may be important for its chemopreventive and therapeutic effects. Resistance to 4HPR has been described, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying sensitivity or resistance to this retinoid are not clear. Recently, it has been shown that the carbohydrate-binding protein galectin-3, which has been implicated in tumor progression, contains the anti-death motif NWGR present in the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. To determine whether galectin-3 expression can abrogate the effect of 4HPR, we tested the effects of 4HPR on apoptosis of cell clones derived from the galectin-3 deficient human BT549 breast carcinoma cells after transfection with either wild type galectin-3 (BT549Gal-3Wt), galectin-3 inactivated by a point mutation in the NWGR motif (BT549Gal-3Mu), or empty vector control (BT549Vec). Both BT549Vec and BT549Gal-3Mu cells showed a marked decrease in survival after treatment with 4HPR principally due to induction of apoptosis. 4HPR-induced apoptosis in these cells was associated with stimulation of reactive oxygen species generation, decreased levels of Bcl-2 protein, release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, increased caspase-3 activity, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. In contrast, 4HPR failed to exert any of these effects in the BT549Gal-3Wt cells. The demonstration that galectin-3 suppresses 4HPR-induced apoptosis in human breast carcinoma cells suggests that the increased expression of galectin-3 during cancer progression may be associated with 4HPR resistance.
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PMID:Inhibition of N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells by galectin-3. 1532 75

Galectin-3 internal gene (Galig) was recently identified as an internal gene transcribed from the second intron of the human galectin-3 gene that is implicated in cell growth, cell differentiation, and cancer development. In this study, we show that galig expression causes morphological alterations in human cells, such as cell shrinkage, cytoplasm vacuolization, nuclei condensation, and ultimately cell death. These alterations were associated with extramitochondrial release of cytochrome c, a known cell death effector. Furthermore, Bcl-xL co-transfection significantly reduced the release of cytochrome c induced by galig expression, suggesting a common pathway between the cytotoxic activity of galig and the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-xL. This antagonism was not observed upon co-transfection of Bcl-2 and galig. Galig encodes a mitochondrial-targeted protein named mitogaligin. Structure-activity relationship studies showed that the mitochondrial addressing of mitogaligin relies on an internal sequence that is required and sufficient for the release of cytochrome c and cell death upon cell transfection. Moreover, incubation of isolated mitochondria with peptides derived from mitogaligin induces cytochrome c release. Altogether, these results show that galig is a novel cell death gene encoding mitogaligin, a protein promoting cytochrome c release upon direct interaction with the mitochondria.
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PMID:Galig, a novel cell death gene that encodes a mitochondrial protein promoting cytochrome c release. 1556 Nov 1


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