Neoglycopolymers of polyacrylamide backbone conjugated with varying densities of GalR1-3Galâ14Glcâ trisaccharide epitopes (R-Gal epitopes) were designed and synthesized to study the inhibition of the binding of human natural anti-Gal antibodies to either R-Gal-containing glycoproteins or R-Gal antigens on the surface of mammalian cells. An inhibition ELISA using mouse laminin and a flow cytomet...

BACKGROUND Galectin-3 (gal-3), a member of the β-galactoside-binding animal lectins, is involved in the recruitment, activation and removal of neutrophils. Neutrophilic asthma is characterized by a persistent elevation of airway neutrophils and impaired efferocytosis. We hypothesized that sputum gal-3 would be reduced in neutrophilic asthma and the expression of gal-3 would be associated with o...

Interaction of Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) plays an important role in the regulation of immune responses by inducing apoptosis of activated cells; however, a possible role of FasL in DNA vaccination has not been well understood. We examined whether administration of DNA encoding FasL gene enhanced antitumor effects in mice that were vaccinated with DNA expressing a putative tumor antigen gene, β-...

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) caused by mutations in the gene (GLA) that encodes the lysosomal hydrolase α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A), and is characterized by pathological accumulation of the substrate, globotriaosylceramide (GL-3). Regular infusion of recombinant human α-Gal A (rhα-Gal A), termed enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), is the primary treatment for Fabr...

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) regulates leukocyte turnover by inducing the cell surface exposure of phosphatidylserine (PS), a ligand that targets cells for phagocytic removal, in the absence of apoptosis. Gal-1 monomer-dimer equilibrium appears to modulate Gal-1-induced PS exposure, although the mechanism underlying this regulation remains unclear. Here we show that monomer-dimer equilibrium regulates Ga...

Although galanin (GAL) protects hippocampal neurons from ischemic damage, no study has examined ischemia-related changes in endogenous GAL in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. We investigated the chronological changes of GAL, well-known as the potassium channel opener, expression in the dentate gyrus at various times after 5 min of transient forebrain ischemia in gerbils. A few GAL-immunoreactive ...

Fibers containing galanin (GAL) hyperinnervate cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) nucleus basalis neurons in late stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the molecular consequences of this phenomenon are unknown. To determine whether GAL alters the expression of genes critical to CBF cell survival in AD, single cell microarray analysis was used to determine mRNA levels within nucleus basalis neurons...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a member of the β-galactoside-binding lectin family. Our previous study revealed that Gal-9 suppresses migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer cells. Gal-9 was reported to have anti-metastatic activity in patients with malignant melanoma, breast cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the pr...

BACKGROUND Galectin-3 (Gal-3) and active (GTP-bound) K-Ras contribute to the malignant phenotype of many human tumors by increasing the rate of cell proliferation, survival, and migration. These Gal-3-mediated effects result from a selective binding to K-Ras.GTP, causing increased nanoclustering in the cell membrane and leading to robust Ras signaling. Regulation of the interactions between Gal...

Humans evolved by losing the capacity to synthesize glycan Galα1-3Galβ1-(3)4GlcNAc-R (α-Gal), which resulted in develop a protective response mediated anti-α-Gal IgM/IgG antibodies against pathogens containing this modification on membrane proteins. As an evolutionary trade-off, humans can alpha-Gal syndrome (AGS), recently diagnosed disease mainly associated with allergic reactions mammalian m...