Galectin-9 in physiological and pathological conditions.
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.
Hirashima
Mitsuomi
M
Department of Immunology & Immunopathology, Kagawa Medical University, Kagawa, Japan. mitsuomi@kms.ac.jp
Kashio
Yumiko
Y
Nishi
Nozomu
N
Yamauchi
Akira
A
Imaizumi
Tada-atsu
TA
Kageshita
Toshiro
T
Saita
Naoki
N
Nakamura
Takanori
T
D017209:Apoptosis; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000378:metabolism; D037161:Galectins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D037161:Galectins; C105032:LGALS9 protein, human