Cellular function of galectin-7: a critical role in mitochondrial apoptosis

细胞凋亡是生物体发育和功能不可缺少的一部分。在这一过程中，不再需要的或将对生物体或组织有害的细胞被整齐有序地处置，以确保损坏的细胞被干净地包装和移除。在对细胞凋亡起重要作用的蛋白质中，我们发现了bcl2家族的蛋白质。这个家族的成员有几个共同的结构特征，使他们能够与其他细胞内蛋白结合。我们的研究项目旨在更好地了解Bcl-2蛋白如何与Galectins相互作用。Galectins是一种可溶性的碳水化合物结合蛋白，在35-40多年前首次在电鳗中发现。从那时起，Galectin家族的15个成员被证明参与了许多生理过程，包括发育、伤口愈合和免疫反应的调节。历史上，对Galectins的研究一直集中在它们的细胞外功能上，最显著的是因为它们能够与细胞表面表达的各种受体结合。然而，我们和其他人已经证明，Galectins在细胞内具有同样重要的功能，最显著的是通过控制细胞凋亡。Galectin-3和Galectin-7定位于线粒体并与Bcl2结合的能力表明，它们是控制细胞凋亡的Bcl2网络的一部分。我们的研究项目旨在了解细胞内Galectins如何通过与Bcl-2家族成员的相互作用来调节细胞凋亡。

Apoptosis is an indispensable part of the development and function of an organism. In this process, cells that are no longer needed or that will be detrimental to an organism or tissue are disposed of in a neat and orderly manner to ensure that the damaged cell is packaged and removed cleanly. Among the proteins that play an important role in apoptosis, we find proteins of the bcl-2 family. Members of this family share several structural features that allow them to bind to other intracellular proteins. Our research program aims at better understanding how Bcl-2 proteins interact with galectins. Galectins are soluble carbohydrate-binding proteins that were first discovered in the electric eel more than 35-40 years ago. Since then, the 15 members of the galectin family have been shown to be involved in a number of physiological processes, including development, wound healing, and regulation of the immune response. Historically, studies on galectins have focused on their extracellular functions, most notably because they are able to bind to a variety of receptors expressed at the cell surface. We and others have shown, however, that galectins have equally important functions inside the cells, most notably by controlling apoptosis. The ability of galectin-3 and galectin-7 to localize at the mitochondria and to bind Bcl-2 suggest that they are part of the Bcl-2 network that controls apoptosis. Our research program aims at understanding how intracellular galectins modulate apoptosis via interaction with members of the Bcl-2 family.