Galectins and microenvironmental niches during hematopoiesis

Abstract

Galectins, a family of evolutionarily conserved glycan-binding proteins, are involved in the regulation of multiple cellular processes (e.g. immunity, apoptosis, cellular signaling, development, angiogenesis and cellular growth) and diseases (e.g. chronic inflammation, autoimmunity, cancer, infection). We discuss here how galectins contribute to the development of specialized microenvironmental niches during hematopoiesis.