Galectokines: The Promiscuous Relationship between Galectins and Cytokines.

Biomolecules

Department of Radiation Oncology, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Published: September 2022

Galectins, a family of glycan-binding proteins, are well-known for their role in shaping the immune microenvironment. They can directly affect the activity and survival of different immune cell subtypes. Recent evidence suggests that galectins also indirectly affect the immune response by binding to members of another immunoregulatory protein family, i.e., cytokines. Such galectin-cytokine heterodimers, here referred to as galectokines, add a new layer of complexity to the regulation of immune homeostasis. Here, we summarize the current knowledge with regard to galectokine formation and function. We describe the known and potential mechanisms by which galectokines can help to shape the immune microenvironment. Finally, the outstanding questions and challenges for future research regarding the role of galectokines in immunomodulation are discussed.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9496209PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom12091286DOI Listing

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