Galectin-1, also known as L14, BHL and galaptin, is a monomeric or homodimeric prototype galectin that is expressed in a variety of cells and tissues including muscle, heart, liver, prostate, lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, placenta, testis, retina, macrophages, B cells, T cells, dendritic cells, and tumor cells. It preferentially binds laminin, fibronectin, 90K/Mac2BP, CD45, CD43, CD7, CD2, CD3, and ganglioside GM1. Galectin-1 modulates cell growth and proliferation, either positively or negatively, depending on the cell type and activation status. It controls cell survival by inducing apoptosis of activated T cells and immature thymocytes. It modulates cytokine secretion by inducing Th2 type cytokines and inhibiting proinflammatory cytokine production. Galectin1 can also modulate cel-lcell as well as cell-lmatrix interactions and depending on the cell type and developmental stage, promote cell attachment or detachment. Galectin-1 has immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to suppress acute and chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Human and mouse galectin1 share about 88% amino acid sequence similarity.
