Evidence of a novel galectin-9-binding membrane glycoprotein ligand on T helper cells

摘要

In recent years, the family of 15 cytokine-like p-galactoside binding proteins, known as galectins, has received much attention due to their role in cancer development and immuno-regulation of innate and adaptive responses [1-5]. Galectins are classified according to their carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) and subdivided into three categories: prototypical (1 CRD), chimeric (1 CRD with a long poly-amino tail) and tandem-repeat galectins (2 different CRDs fused by a flexible peptide linker) [6].