Galectins is the comprehensive guide to the current understanding of galectins and their promising potential in drug design.

This is the first book focusing on galectins. It was inspired by topics discussed at the symposium "Galectins: Structures, Functions, and Therapeutic Targets" that was a part of the 234th American Chemical Society meeting in 2007.

Galectins includes:

• An overview of early galectin research
• An explanation of the nature of galectins
• A discussion of the structure and functions of galectins, their ligand specificity and molecular mechanisms of action, and the localization of galectins in the cell
• An exploration of the roles galectins play in tumor growth and cancer, fibrosis, inflammation, and immunity
• A discussion of the effect of galectins on cell migration, angiogenesis, and chemoresistance
• An introduction to new approaches to designing galectin inhibitors

Contents

1. Stumbling on Galectins
2. Galectins and their Functions in Plain Language
3. Understanding Galectin Structure-Function Relationships to Design Effective Antagonists
4. Galectins as Regulators of Tumor Growth and Invasion by Targeting Distinct Cell Surface Glycans and Implications for Drug Design
5. Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Localization of Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 and their Roles in pre-mRNA Splicing
6. Galectins in Regulation of Inflammation and Immunity
7. Galectins as Danger Signals in Host-Pathogen and Host-Tumor Interactions: New Members of the Growing Group of "Alarmins"
8. The Role of Galectins in Organ Fibrosis
9. Galectin-1, Cancer Cell Migration, Angiogenesis and Chemoresistance
10. Galectin-3 in the Progression and Metastasis of Colorectal Neoplasia
11. Galectins in Malignant Gliomas: Expression, Functions and Possible Therapeutic Options
12. Food-Related Carbohydrate Ligands for Galectins

Index

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