Isolation of galectin-1 from human platelets: its interaction with actin

The interplay of galectins-1, -3, and -9 in the immune-inflammatory response underlying cardiovascular and metabolic disease

Galectins are β-galactoside-binding proteins that bind and crosslink molecules via their sugar moieties, forming signaling and adhesion networks involved in cellular communication, differentiation, migration, and survival. Galectins are expressed ubiquitously across immune cells, and their function varies with their tissue-specific and subcellular location. Particularly galectin-1, -3, and -9 are highly expressed by inflammatory cells and are involved in the modulation of several innate and adaptive immune responses. Modulation in the expression of these proteins accompany major processes in cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders, such as atherosclerosis, thrombosis, obesity, and diabetes, making them attractive therapeutic targets. In this review we consider the broad cellular activities ascribed to galectin-1, -3, and -9, highlighting those linked to the progression of different inflammatory driven pathologies in the context of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, to better understand their mechanism of action and provide new insights into the design of novel therapeutic strategies.

Galectin-9 activates platelet ITAM receptors glycoprotein VI and C-type lectin-like receptor-2

BACKGROUND

Platelets are multifunctional cellular mediators in many physiological and pathophysiological processes such as thrombosis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. Several members of galectins, a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins with a broad range of immunomodulatory actions, have been reported to activate platelets.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we investigated the role of galectin-9 (Gal-9) as a novel ligand for platelet glycoprotein VI (GPVI) and C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2).

METHODS

Platelet spreading, aggregation, and P-selectin expression in response to Gal-9 were measured in washed platelet suspensions via static adhesion assay, light transmission aggregometry, and flow cytometry, respectively. Solid-phase binding assay and protein phosphorylation studies were utilized to validate the interaction between Gal-9 and GPVI, and immunoprecipitation for detecting CLEC-2 phosphorylation. Wild-type (WT), GPVI-knockout (Gp6-/- ), and GPVI and CLEC-2-double knockout (Gp6-/- /Gp1ba-Cre-Clec1bfl/fl ) mice were used.

RESULTS

We have shown that recombinant Gal-9 stimulates aggregation in human and mouse washed platelets dose-dependently. Platelets from both species adhere and spread on immobilized Gal-9 and express P-selectin. Gal-9 competitively inhibited the binding of human recombinant D1 and D2 domains of GPVI to collagen. Gal-9 stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of CLEC-2 and proteins known to lie downstream of GPVI and CLEC-2 including spleen tyrosine kinase and linker of activated T cells in human platelets. GPVI-deficient murine platelets exhibited significantly impaired aggregation in response to Gal-9, which was further abrogated in GPVI and CLEC-2-double-deficient platelets.

CONCLUSIONS

We have identified Gal-9 as a novel platelet agonist that induces activation through interaction with GPVI and CLEC-2.

Unraveling How Tumor-Derived Galectins Contribute to Anti-Cancer Immunity Failure

Simple Summary

This review compiles our current knowledge of one of the main pathways activated by tumors to escape immune attack. Indeed, it integrates the current understanding of how tumor-derived circulating galectins affect the elicitation of effective anti-tumor immunity. It focuses on several relevant topics: which are the main galectins produced by tumors, how soluble galectins circulate throughout biological liquids (taking a body-settled gradient concentration into account), the conditions required for the galectins’ functions to be accomplished at the tumor and tumor-distant sites, and how the physicochemical properties of the microenvironment in each tissue determine their functions. These are no mere semantic definitions as they define which functions can be performed in said tissues instead. Finally, we discuss the promising future of galectins as targets in cancer immunotherapy and some outstanding questions in the field.

Abstract

Current data indicates that anti-tumor T cell-mediated immunity correlates with a better prognosis in cancer patients. However, it has widely been demonstrated that tumor cells negatively manage immune attack by activating several immune-suppressive mechanisms. It is, therefore, essential to fully understand how lymphocytes are activated in a tumor microenvironment and, above all, how to prevent these cells from becoming dysfunctional. Tumors produce galectins-1, -3, -7, -8, and -9 as one of the major molecular mechanisms to evade immune control of tumor development. These galectins impact different steps in the establishment of the anti-tumor immune responses. Here, we carry out a critical dissection on the mechanisms through which tumor-derived galectins can influence the production and the functionality of anti-tumor T lymphocytes. This knowledge may help us design more effective immunotherapies to treat human cancers.

The Emerging Role of Galectins and O-GlcNAc Homeostasis in Processes of Cellular Differentiation

Galectins are a family of soluble β-galactoside-binding proteins with diverse glycan-dependent and glycan-independent functions outside and inside the cell. Human cells express twelve out of sixteen recognized mammalian galectin genes and their expression profiles are very different between cell types and tissues. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the changes in the expression of individual galectins at mRNA and protein levels in different types of differentiating cells and the effects of recombinant galectins on cellular differentiation. A new model of galectin regulation is proposed considering the change in O-GlcNAc homeostasis between progenitor/stem cells and mature differentiated cells. The recognition of galectins as regulatory factors controlling cell differentiation and self-renewal is essential for developmental and cancer biology to develop innovative strategies for prevention and targeted treatment of proliferative diseases, tissue regeneration, and stem-cell therapy.

Expression and functions of galectin-7 in ovarian cancer

There is a critical need to develop effective new strategies for diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. In the present work, we investigated the expression of galectin-7 (gal-7) in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells and studied its functional relevance. Immunohistochemical analysis of gal-7 expression in tissue microarrays showed that while gal-7 was not detected in normal ovarian tissues, positive cytoplasmic staining of gal-7 was detected in epithelial cells in all EOC histological subtypes but was more frequent in high grade tumors and metastatic samples. Gal-7 expression correlated with a significant difference in the overall survival of patients with ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma. Furthermore, using human EOC cell lines, we found that gal-7 expression was induced by mutant p53. Mechanistically, Matrigel invasion assays and live cell imaging showed that gal-7 increased the invasive behavior of ovarian cancer cells by inducing MMP-9 and increasing cell motility. EOC cells can also secrete gal-7. Recombinant human gal-7 kills Jurkat T cells and human peripheral T cells, suggesting that gal-7 also has immunosuppressive properties. Taken together, our study validates the clinical significance of gal-7 overexpression in ovarian cancer and provides a rationale for targeting gal-7 to improve the outcome of patients with this disease.

A novel role of h2-calponin in regulating whole blood thrombosis and platelet adhesion during physiologic flow

Calponin is an actin filament-associated protein reported in platelets, although the specific isoform expressed and functional role were not identified. The h2-calponin isoform is expressed in myeloid-derived peripheral blood monocytes, where it regulates adhesion. Our objective was to characterize the presence and function of the h2 isoform of calponin in platelets. H2-calponin was detected in human and mouse platelets via Western blotting. Immunofluorescent staining demonstrated h2-calponin and actin colocalized in both human and wild-type mouse platelets at rest and following collagen activation. The kinetics of platelet adhesion and whole blood thrombosis during physiologic flow was evaluated in a microfluidic flow-based thrombosis assay. The time to initiation of rapid platelet/thrombus accumulation (lag time) was significantly longer in h2-calponin knockout versus wild-type mouse blood (130.02 ± 3.74 sec and 72.95 ± 16.23 sec, respectively, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of platelet/thrombus accumulation during the rapid phase or the maximum platelet/thrombus accumulation. H2-calponin knockout mice also had prolonged bleeding time and blood loss. H2-calponin in platelets facilitates early interactions between platelets and collagen during physiologic flow, but does not significantly affect the rate or magnitude of platelet/thrombus accumulation. H2-calponin knockout mice take 2.3 times longer to achieve hemostasis compared to wild-type controls in a tail bleeding model. The ability to delay platelet accumulation without inhibiting downstream thrombotic potential would be of significant therapeutic value, thus h2-calponin may be a novel target for therapeutic platelet inhibition.

Intracellular galectins in cancer cells: potential new targets for therapy (Review)

Dysregulation of galectin expression is frequently observed in cancer tissues. Such an abnormal expression pattern often correlates with aggressiveness and relapse in many types of cancer. Because galectins have the ability to modulate functions that are important for cell survival, migration and metastasis, they also represent attractive targets for cancer therapy. This has been well-exploited for extracellular galectins, which bind glycoconjugates expressed on the surface of cancer cells. Although the existence of intracellular functions of galectins has been known for many years, an increasing number of studies indicate that these proteins can also alter tumor progression through their interaction with intracellular ligands. In fact, in some instances, the interactions of galectins with their intracellular ligands seem to occur independently of their carbohydrate recognition domain. Such findings call for a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, concerning the activity of galectins in cancer and may force us to revisit our strategies to develop galectin antagonists for the treatment of cancer.