Role of galectin-3 in the pathogenesis of bladder transitional cell carcinoma

• Published in: Human immunology Vol. 76; no. 10; pp. 770 - 774
• Main Authors: Zeinali, Masoud, Adelinik, Armin, Papian, Shaghayegh, Khorramdelazad, Hossein, Abedinzadeh, Mehdi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2015
• Subjects: Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Bladder cancer; Carcinogenesis - drug effects; Carcinogenesis - genetics; Carcinogenesis - immunology; Carcinogenesis - pathology; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell - immunology; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell - pathology; Galectin 3 - antagonists & inhibitors; Galectin 3 - genetics; Galectin 3 - immunology; Galectin-3; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neovascularization, Pathologic - drug therapy; Neovascularization, Pathologic - genetics; Neovascularization, Pathologic - immunology; Neovascularization, Pathologic - pathology; Signal Transduction; TCC; Tumor; Tumor Microenvironment; Urinary Bladder - drug effects; Urinary Bladder - immunology; Urinary Bladder - pathology; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - drug therapy; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - genetics; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - immunology; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - pathology; Tumor; Galectin-3; TCC; Bladder cancer
• ISSN: 0198-8859; 1879-1166
• DOI: 10.1016/j.humimm.2015.09.036

Abstract Galectins constitute an evolutionary conserved family that binds to β-galactosides. There is growing evidence that galectins are implicated in essential biological processes such as cellular communication, inflammation, differentiation and apoptosis. Galectin-3 is one of the best-known galectins, which is found in vertebrates. Galectin-3 has been shown to be expressed in some cell lines and plays important roles in several physiological and pathological processes, including cell adhesion, cell activation and chemoattraction, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell growth, and differentiation. Moreover, this galectin is of interest due to its involvement in regulation of cancer. Changes in galectin-3 expression are commonly seen in cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions and galectin-3 may be involved in the regulation of cancer cell activities that contribute to tumourigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis. Finally, galectin-3 seems to be involved in cell events in tumor microenvironment, and therefore it could be considered as a target in transitional cell carcinoma therapies. This review aims to describe recent progress in understanding the role of galectin-3 in cancer biology, with emphasis on bladder tumor progression and metastasis.