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
. 2021 Sep 23;11(10):1398.
doi: 10.3390/biom11101398.

Immunosuppressive Roles of Galectin-1 in the Tumor Microenvironment

Yanyu Huang  1 , Hsiao-Chi Wang  2 , Junwei Zhao  1 , Ming-Heng Wu  3 , Tsung-Chieh Shih  1
Affiliations
Review

Immunosuppressive Roles of Galectin-1 in the Tumor Microenvironment

Yanyu Huang et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Evasion of immune surveillance is an accepted hallmark of tumor progression. The production of immune suppressive mediators by tumor cells is one of the major mechanisms of tumor immune escape. Galectin-1 (Gal-1), a pivotal immunosuppressive molecule, is expressed by many types of cancer. Tumor-secreted Gal-1 can bind to glycosylated receptors on immune cells and trigger the suppression of immune cell function in the tumor microenvironment, contributing to the immune evasion of tumors. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literature on the expression and function of Gal-1 in the human tumor microenvironment, as well as therapeutics targeting Gal-1.

Keywords: Galectin-1; LLS30; immunotherapy; microenvironment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Shih is an inventor of Galectin-1 inhibitor LLS30. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Immunosuppressive functions of Gal-1 in the tumor microenvironment. Gal-1 recognizes terminal galactose residues β-1,4-linked to LacNAc, which is present in different cell receptors including CD43, CD69, CD45, and pre-BCR. Through the binding of LacNAc, Gal-1 can stimulate the apoptosis of effector leukocytes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of Gal-1 inhibitors. (A) Thiodigalactoside. (B) 4-F-GlcNAc. (C) GM-CT-01. (D) GR-MD-02. (E) OTXOO8. (F) PTX013. (G) LLS30.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sung H., Ferlay J., Siegel R.L., Laversanne M., Soerjomataram I., Jemal A., Bray F. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. Cancer J. Clin. 2021;71:209–249. doi: 10.3322/caac.21660. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Houghton A.N., Guevara-Patiño J.A. Immune recognition of self in immunity against cancer. J. Clin. Investig. 2004;114:468–471. doi: 10.1172/JCI22685. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hanahan D., Weinberg R.A. Hallmarks of cancer: The next generation. Cell. 2011;144:646–674. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.02.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Postow M.A., Callahan M.K., Wolchok J.D. Immune checkpoint blockade in cancer therapy. J. Clin. Oncol. 2015;33:1974–1982. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.59.4358. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schnaar R.L. Glycans and glycan-binding proteins in immune regulation: A concise introduction to glycobiology for the allergist. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2015;135:609–615. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2014.10.057. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types