Targeting galectins in T cell-based immunotherapy within tumor microenvironment

• Published in: Life sciences (1973) Vol. 277; p. 119426
• Main Authors: Jin, Qiu-Yang, Li, Ying-Shuang, Qiao, Xing-Hui, Yang, Jia-Wei, Guo, Xiu-Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 15.07.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Adaptive systems; Galectin; Immune checkpoint; Immune checkpoint therapy; Immune system; Immunosuppression; Immunotherapy; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; T cell; Tumor immunotherapy; Tumor microenvironment; Tumors; Galectin; Immune checkpoint therapy; Tumor immunotherapy; Tumor microenvironment; T cell
• ISSN: 0024-3205; 1879-0631
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119426

Over the past few years, tumor immunotherapy has emerged as an innovative tumor treatment and owned incomparable advantages over other tumor therapy. With unique complexity and uncertainty, immunotherapy still need helper to apply in the clinic. Galectins, modulated in tumor microenvironment, can regulate the disorders of innate and adaptive immune system resisting tumor growth. Considering the role of galectins in tumor immunosuppression, combination therapy of targeted anti-galectins and immunotherapy may be a promising tumor treatment. This brief review summarizes the expression and immune functions of different galectins in tumor microenvironment and discusses the potential value of anti-galectins in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in tumor immunotherapy. [Display omitted] •Galectins are abnormally upregulated or downregulated in different types of tumor.•Tumor derived galectins can regulate T cell proliferation and activation to evade immune surveillance.•Galectins-1, 3, 9 have a positive correlation with PD-1/PD-L1 and can be biomarkers for PD-1/PD-L1 tumor therapy.•Galectins inhibitors have a synergistic effect with immune checkpoint blockade in the treatment with tumor.