Galectin-3 mediates porcine endothelial xenorecognition, adhesion, and activation of human monocytes.
Published: 2007
Language: eng
Number of pages: 110
ISBN-13: 9780494274958
Description: Delayed xenograft rejection (DXR) remains the principle immunological barrier to successful xenotransplantation. A feature of DXR is the early recruitment and accumulation of monocytes to the xenograft. Naive human monocytes can recognize and adhere to un-stimulated porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAEC) more than human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC), partly due to endothelial expression of the xenoantigen galactose-alpha(1,3)galactose-beta(1,4)GlcNAc-R (alpha-gal). Galectin-3 is a candidate molecule on the monocyte involved in the initial recognition, subsequent activation, and adhesion of human monocytes to PAEC. It is present on the surface of human monocytes with larger intracellular stores that can be secreted to the extracellular space. Galectin-3 binds highly to PAEC compared to HAEC. Furthermore, exogenous Galectin-3 activates monocytes themselves in an autocrine/paracrine manner. Blocking or removal of Galectin-3 on human monocytes reduces their activation upon co-culture with PAEC. Thus, inhibition of human Galectin-3 in pig-to-primate xenografts could diminish some of the manifestations of DXR.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3121.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Toronto, 2007.

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