Galectins: Key players in the tumor microenvironment

Abstract

Galectins are glycan‐binding proteins implicated in several biological activities such as intracellular signaling, cell‐cell communication, cellular proliferation and survival. These endogenous lectins have emerged as key players in the tumor microenvironment. They are expressed and released by different cell types, including tumor, stromal, endothelial, and immune cells and critically influence tumor progression by modulating tumor cell migration, invasiveness, angiogenesis and anti‐tumor immune responses. Intracellularly, galectins modulate survival and proliferation and interact with a variety of signaling pathways. Given these extracellular and intracellular functions and their regulated expression at sites of tumor growth and metastasis, galectins have stimulated great interest as relevant biomarkers and novel targets in cancer therapy.