title: Role of galectin-3 in the pathogenesis of bladder transitional cell carcinoma.
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.
authors.affiliation: Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeinali
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Genetics and Biotechnology, Avicenna Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adelinik
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Bacteriology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shaghayegh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papian
authors.affiliation: Molecular Medicine Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khorramdelazad
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Yazd, Iran. Electronic address: abedinoro@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abedinzadeh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001798:Blood Proteins; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D037161:Galectins; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001798:Blood Proteins; D037502:Galectin 3; D037161:Galectins; C428445:LGALS3 protein, human
keywords: Bladder cancer; Galectin-3; TCC; Tumor