title: Translating the 'Sugar Code' into Immune and Vascular Signaling Programs.
abstract: The vast range and complexity of glycan structures and their dynamic variations in health and disease have presented formidable challenges toward understanding the biological significance of these molecules. Despite these limitations, compelling evidence highlights a major role for galectins, a family of soluble glycan-binding proteins, as endogenous decoders that translate glycan-containing information into a broad spectrum of cellular responses by modulating receptor clustering, reorganization, endocytosis, and signaling. Here, we underscore pioneer findings and recent advances in understanding the biology of galectin-glycan interactions in myeloid, lymphoid, and endothelial compartments, highlighting important pathways by which these multivalent complexes control immune and vascular programs. Implementation of novel glycoanalytical approaches, as well as the use of genetically engineered cell and organism models, have allowed glycans and galectins to be explored across a range of cellular processes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Juan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cerliani
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ada G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Blidner
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Marta A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Toscano
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza 'Dr. Mario H. Burgos' (IHEM-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, C5500 Mendoza, Argentina.
authors.forename: Diego O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Croci
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: gabyrabi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gabriel A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Rabinovich
mesh_terms: D004727:Endothelium / Q000378:metabolism*; D037161:Galectins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000378:metabolism*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D037161:Galectins; D011134:Polysaccharides
keywords: endothelial cells; galectins; glycans; lymphoid cells; myeloid cells