Study of the regulatory mechanism of lectin in infection and disease

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24590345
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General medical chemistry
• Research Institution: The Noguchi Institute (2013-2014); Sasaki Institute (2012)
• Principal Investigator: IDEO Hiroko 公益財団法人野口研究所, その他部局等, 研究員 (90180322)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YAMASHITA Katsuko 横浜市立大学, 医学研究科, その他 (70030905)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: ガレクチン-4 / MUC-1 / 細胞外放出 / シグナル伝達分子 / 硫酸化糖鎖 / がん / レクチンELISA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To investigate the biological function and mechanism of sugar chains in host defense system, we studied the regulatory roles of galectin-4 in infection and disease. Galectin-4 is abundantly expressed in the epithelium of the alimentary tract, however it's externalization mechanism is currently unknown. Our study showed that externalization of galectin-4 and its ligands (MUC1) can be regulated by signaling molecules, which are activated in cancer and infected cells.
Next, we developed a lectin-sandwich immunoassay using galectin-4 and a MUC1 antibody and found that galectin-4 preferred MUC1 possessing 3'-sulfated core1, which was profoundly expressed in the sera of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic breast cancer. Thus involvement of galectin-4 and its preferred sugar chain in cancer malignancy is strongly suggested.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学、基礎医学、医化学一般