engleski

Sweet mode of communication

Regardless of a type of players involved in the communication process, recognition is usually the first step of that interplay. Though it was initially believed that majority of the cell-molecule and cell-cell interactions rely on the protein-protein interactions, advances in the field of glycobiology bring forward sugar-lectin interactions and launch them to equal, if not even to the leading position. The enormous structural diversity of carbohydrate part of glycoconjugates makes them ideal for the storage of biological information, which is interpreted through the interactions with their physiological receptors - lectins. That diversity, in combination with the unique lectin properties, such as binding of various glycans with different affinity through the high number of low-affinity interactions, makes a basis that provides fine-tuning of numerous processes through sugar-lectin interactions. Galectins, whose basic specificity for beta-galactosides is conserved by evolutionarily preserved sequence elements of carbohydrate-recognition domain, are believed to act as modulators of cell interactions and to be essential for the normal differentiation and growth of multicellular organisms. They are capable of modulating cell proliferation, cell arrest, or apoptosis and have been implicated in organ morphogenesis, carcinogenesis, metastasis, leukocyte trafficking, immune response, and inflammation, as well as recognition of extracellular matrix. Yet, information regarding causes and consequences of the changes in galectins’ expression, location and activity are still very scarce. We put in focus of our scientific research a unique member of the galectin family, galectin-3, investigating its regulatory mechanisms, mode of action and role in stress and immune response.

glikobiologija; lektini; šećeri

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