title: Galectin-3 enhances epithelial cell adhesion and wound healing in rat cornea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate if galectin-3: (1) enhances adhesion of rat corneal epithelial cells onto a collagen IV substrate and (2) promotes wound healing in rat corneal explants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary cultures of rat corneal epithelial cells were fixed and immunostained with galectin-3 antibody. To test cellular adherence onto plates coated with collagen type IV, isolated corneal epithelial cells from rats were cultured for 24 h with or without recombinant galectin-3. The attached cells were counted after fixing and staining with 0.1% crystal violet. Direct binding of galectin-3 to collagen IV was tested using a biotin label transfer method. To evaluate wound healing, explants with a 3.5-mm diameter wound in the central corneal epithelium from rats were incubated for 16 h with or without recombinant galectin-3. Changes in the size of the wound were measured with a digital microscope after staining with 5% fluorescein sodium.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In rat corneal epithelial cells, galectin-3 was stained throughout the cytoplasm, with increasing density adjacent to the plasma membrane. Exogenous galectin-3, but not epidermal growth factor (EGF), significantly promoted adhesion of corneal epithelial cells onto the collagen IV substrate. Galectin-3 directly bound to collagen IV in vitro. Exogenous galectin-3 significantly enhances wound healing in the corneal explants, which was partially inhibited by β-lactose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Galectin-3 promotes adhesion of corneal epithelial cells onto collagen IV and enhances wound healing in corneal explants. Since galectin-3 functions in promoting wound healing by a different mechanism than that used by EGF, exogenous galectin-3 may be a candidate drug for enhancing epithelial cell wound healing in disorders of the cornea.
authors.affiliation: Senju Laboratory of Ocular Sciences, Senju Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yabuta
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Shearer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000378:metabolism*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000502:physiology*; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D024141:Collagen Type IV; D037502:Galectin 3; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3