Galectins are a family of soluble b-galactoside-binding animal lectins that modulate cell-to-cell adhesion and cell-to-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions and play a role in tumor progression, pre-mRNA splicing and apoptosis. Specifically, Galectin-1 is an autocrine regulator of cell-proliferation that plays a role in the maintenance of G0 and in the control of G2 traverse. Galectin-1, also known as LGALS1, is the protein product of a single gene linked to human chromosome 22q13.1. The Galectin-1 protein contains 135 amino acids, a single internal EcoRI site and a polyadenylation signal. Galectin-1 can localize to both intracellular and extracellular space. Galectin-1 is expressed in human placenta, human lung, HL-6, HepG2 and CEM cells.
