Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review

Galectins

Richard D Cummings, Fu-Tong Liu
Ajit Varki, Richard D Cummings, Jeffrey D Esko, Hudson H Freeze, Pamela Stanley, Carolyn R Bertozzi, Gerald W Hart, Marilynn E Etzler
, editors.
In: Essentials of Glycobiology. 2nd edition. Cold Spring Harbor (NY): Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2009. Chapter 33.
Review

Galectins

Richard D Cummings et al.

Excerpt

Galectins typically bind β-galactose-containing glycoconjugates and share primary structural homology in their carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs). Previously termed S-type lectins, galectins represent a group of proteins that are the most widely expressed class of lectins in all organisms. This chapter describes the diversity of the galectin family and presents an overview of what is known about their biosynthesis, secretion, and biological activities.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Drickamer K, Taylor ME. Biology of animal lectins. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1993;9:237–264. - PubMed
    1. Barondes SH, Cooper DN, Gitt MA, Leffler H. Galectins. Structure and function of a large family of animal lectins. J Biol Chem. 1994;269:20807–20810. - PubMed
    1. Leffler H. Galectins structure and function—A synopsis. Results Probl Cell Differ. 2001;33:57–83. - PubMed
    1. Brewer CF, Miceli MC, Baum LG. Clusters, bundles, arrays and lattices: Novel mechanisms for lectin-saccharide-mediated cellular interactions. Curr Opin Struct Biol. 2002;12:616–623. - PubMed
    1. Cooper DN. Galectinomics: Finding themes in complexity. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 2002;1572:209–231. - PubMed