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Cancer Therapy Due to Apoptosis: Galectin-9
oleh: Koji Fujita, Hisakazu Iwama, Kyoko Oura, Tomoko Tadokoro, Eri Samukawa, Teppei Sakamoto, Takako Nomura, Joji Tani, Hirohito Yoneyama, Asahiro Morishita, Takashi Himoto, Mitsuomi Hirashima, Tsutomu Masaki
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2017-01-01 |
Deskripsi
Dysregulation of apoptosis is a major hallmark in cancer biology that might equip tumors with a higher malignant potential and chemoresistance. The anti-cancer activities of lectin, defined as a carbohydrate-binding protein that is not an enzyme or antibody, have been investigated for over a century. Recently, galectin-9, which has two distinct carbohydrate recognition domains connected by a linker peptide, was noted to induce apoptosis in thymocytes and immune cells. The apoptosis of these cells contributes to the development and regulation of acquired immunity. Furthermore, human recombinant galectin-9, hG9NC (null), which lacks an entire region of the linker peptide, was designed to resist proteolysis. The hG9NC (null) has demonstrated anti-cancer activities, including inducing apoptosis in hematological, dermatological and gastrointestinal malignancies. In this review, the molecular characteristics, history and apoptosis-inducing potential of galectin-9 are described.