Aberrant glycosylation promotes lung cancer metastasis through adhesion to galectins in the metastatic niche.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-associated deaths. Although dissemination of tumor cells likely occurs early in tumorigenesis, the constituents of the microenvironment play essential rate-limiting roles in determining whether these cells will form clinically relevant tumors. Recent studies have uncovered many molecular factors that contribute to the establishment of a protumorigenic metastatic niche. Here, we demonstrate that galectin-3, whose expression has clinical associations with advanced malignancy and poor outcome, contributes to metastatic niche formation by binding to carbohydrates on metastatic cells. We show that galectin-3 is expressed early during tumorigenesis by both CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) and CD11b(+)Ly-6C(hi) leukocytes. Tumors mobilize these myeloid

SUBMITTER: Reticker-Flynn NE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4367955 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature