Research progress of Galectin-1 in the development of tumor

Nowadays more and more biologists and immunologists focus on Galectin-1 due to the in-depth study of Galectins. As one of the important member of Galectins, Galectin-1 distributes widely, exists in a variety of tissues and cells, involves in cell adhesion, proliferation, apoptosis and inflammatory reaction, and results in a variety of physiological and pathological process. Recent studies have found that Galectin-1 expression in a variety of malignant tumor with a close relationship with tumor occurrence, invasion, development, anti-tumor immunity, and metastasis. It may be a potentially new target for cancer and inflammation therapies. This present paper reviews the current research about Galectin-1 and tumor progression. Key words: Galectins/ME; Neoplasms/ME; Review