Vascular galectins: regulators of tumor progression and targets for cancer therapy.
Galectins are a family of carbohydrate binding proteins with a broad range of cytokine and growth factor-like functions in multiple steps of cancer progression. They contribute to tumor cell transformation, promote tumor angiogenesis, hamper the anti-tumor immune response, and facilitate tumor metastasis. Consequently, galectins are considered as multifunctional targets for cancer therapy. Interestingly, many of the functions related to tumor progression can be linked to galectins expressed by endothelial cells in the tumor vascular bed. Since the tumor vasculature is an easily accessible target for cancer therapy, understanding how galectins in the tumor endothelium influence cancer progression is important for the translational development of galectin-targeting therapies.
Angiogenesis Laboratory, Department of Medical Oncology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: v.thijssen@vumc.nl.
Victor L
VL
Thijssen
Gabriel A
GA
Rabinovich
Arjan W
AW
Griffioen
D000818:Animals; D018450:Disease Progression; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D037161:Galectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D037161:Galectins
Angiogenesis; Endothelial cells; Endothelium; Immune response; Metastasis