Role of Galectins in Metastatic Breast Cancer

ABSTRACT

Galectins play a role in mammary morphogenesis and are expressed in all breast cancer subtypes. Galectins bind with glycoconjugates, as well as carbohydrate-independent targets in both the cytosolic and nuclear subcellular fractions. All tissues express galectins and galectins bind to numerous targets localized in different subcellular domains, including cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, and extracellular matrix. Galectin-3 and galectin-1 are associated with breast cancer progression and metastasis and will be the focus of this chapter. The chapter highlights mechanisms involved in galectins’ role in modulating metastatic breast cancer phenotype. Immunocytochemistry analysis of galectin-3 in human breast cancer cells is used to illustrate galectin expression in the metastatic phenotype.