The comprehensive guide to the current understanding of galectins and their promising potential in drug design

This is the first book focusing on galectins. It was inspired by topics discussed at the symposium "Galectins: Structures, Functions, and Therapeutic Targets" that was a part of the 234th American Chemical Society meeting in 2007. To help chemists, biochemists, and others understand the challenges inherent in the study of galectins and build on recent advances in the field, the editors have compiled articles from leading experts on galectins and their biomedical applications. Galectins includes:
* An overview of early galectin research
* An explanation of the nature of galectins
* A discussion of the structure and functions of galectins, their ligand specificity and molecular mechanisms of action, and the localization of galectins in the cell
* An exploration of the roles galectins play in tumor growth and cancer, fibrosis, inflammation, and immunity
* A discussion of the effect of galectins on cell migration, angiogenesis, and chemoresistance
* An introduction to new approaches to designing galectin inhibitors

This is the premier reference on galectins for organic, medicinal, carbohydrate, and pharmaceutical chemists, biochemists, molecular and cell biologists, pharmacologists, cancer researchers, and graduate-level students in these disciplines, as well as clinicians and drug developers.

Anatole A. Klyosov, PhD, is Chief Scientist and cofounder of Pro-Pharma-ceuticals, Inc. He has published more than 290 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals; authored and edited books on enzymes, carbohydrates, and biotechnology, including Wood-Plastic Composites (Wiley); and holds thirty-nine patents.

Zbigniew J. Witczak, PhD, has extensive industrial and academic experience in carbohydrates. He has published more than ninety research papers and holds six patents in the fields of carbohydrate, medicinal, and biological chemistry. In 2000, Dr. Witczak was awarded the Melville L. Wolfrom Award of the ACS Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry for his outstanding research contribution to carbohydrate chemistry and service to the division.

David Platt, PhD, is Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has published peer-reviewed articles and holds many patents, primarily in the field of carbohydrate chemistry. Dr. Klyosov, Dr. Witczak, and Dr. Platt coedited the ACS symposium book Carbohydrate Drug Design.

Preface.

1. Stumbling on Galectins (Samuel H. Barondes).

2. Galectins and their Functions in Plain Language (Anatole A. Klyosov).

3. Understanding Galectin Structure-Function Relationships to Design Effective Antagonists (Irina V. Nesmelova, Ruud P.M. Dings and Kevin H. Mayo).

4. Galectins as Regulators of Tumor Growth and Invasion by Targeting Distinct Cell Surface Glycans and Implications for Drug Design (Hans-J. Gabius and Albert M. Wu).

5. Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Localization of Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 and their Roles in pre-mRNA Splicing (John L. Wang, Kevin C. Haudek, Patricia G. Voss and Ronald J. Patterson).

6. Galectins in Regulation of Inflammation and Immunity (Fu-Tong Liu, Daniel K. Hsu, Ri-Yao Yang, Huan-Yuan Chen and Jun Saegusa).

7. Galectins as Danger Signals in Host-Pathogen and Host-Tumor Interactions: New Members of the Growing Group of "Alarmins" (Sachiko Sato and Gabriel Rabinovich).

8. The Role of Galectins in Organ Fibrosis (Neil C. Henderson and Tariq Sethi).

9. Galectin-1, Cancer Cell Migration, Angiogenesis and Chemoresistance (Florence Lefranc, Marie Le Mercier, Véronique Mathieu and Robert Kiss).

10. Galectin-3 in the Progression and Metastasis of Colorectal Neoplasia (James C. Byrd and Robert S. Bresalier).

11. Galectins in Malignant Gliomas: Expression, Functions and Possible Therapeutic Options (Herwig M. Strik and Anna Hoffman).

12. Food-Related Carbohydrate Ligands for Galectins (Valeri V. Mossine, Vladislav V. Glinsky and Thomas P. Mawhinney).

Index.