The emerging role of galectins in (re)myelination and its potential for developing new approaches to treat multiple sclerosis.

The emerging role of galectins in (re)myelination and its potential for developing new approaches to treat multiple sclerosis. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2019 Oct 18;: Authors: de Jong CGHM, Gabius HJ, Baron W Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system with unknown etiology. Currently approved disease-modifying treatment modalities are immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive. While the applied drugs reduce the frequency and severity of the attacks, their efficacy to regenerate myelin membranes and to halt disease progression is limited. To achieve such therapeutic aims, understanding biological mechanisms of remyelination and identifying factors that interfere with remyelination in MS can give respective directions. Such a perspective is given by the emerging functional profile of galectins. They form a family of tissue lectins, which are potent effectors in processes as diverse as adhesion, apoptosis, immune mediator release or migration. This review focuses on endogenous and exogenous roles of galectins in glial cells such as oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia in the context of de- and (re)myelination and its dysregulation in MS. Evidence is arising for a cooperation among family members so that timed expression and/or secretion of galectins-1, -3 and -4 result in modifying developmental myelination, (neuro)inflammatory processes, de- and remyelinatio...
Source: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Cell Mol Life Sci Source Type: research