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The role of galectin-4 in physiology and diseases

  • Zhan-Qi Cao ,
  • Xiu-Li Guo
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  • Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 50012, China

Received date: 20 Jan 2016

Accepted date: 03 Mar 2016

Published date: 27 May 2016

Copyright

2016 The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com and journal.hep.com.cn

Abstract

Galectin-4, a tandem repeat member of the β-galactoside- binding proteins, possesses two carbohydraterecognition domains (CRD) in a single peptide chain. This lectin is mostly expressed in epithelial cells of the intestinal tract and secreted to the extracellular. The two domains have 40% similarity in amino acid sequence, but distinctly binding to various ligands. Just because the two domains bind to different ligands simultaneously, galectin-4 can be a crosslinker and crucial regulator in a large number of biological processes. Recent evidence shows that galectin-4 plays an important role in lipid raft stabilization, protein apical trafficking, cell adhesion, wound healing, intestinal inflammation, tumor progression, etc. This article reviews the physiological and pathological features of galectin-4 and its important role in such processes.

Cite this article

Zhan-Qi Cao , Xiu-Li Guo . The role of galectin-4 in physiology and diseases[J]. Protein & Cell, 2016 , 7(5) : 314 -324 . DOI: 10.1007/s13238-016-0262-9

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