Role of Galectin-3 in Obesity and Impaired Glucose Homeostasis.

Abstract

Galectin-3 is an important modulator of several biological functions. It has been implicated in numerous disease conditions, particularly in the long-term complications of diabetes because of its ability to bind the advanced glycation/lipoxidation end products that accumulate in target organs and exert their toxic effects by triggering proinflammatory and prooxidant pathways. Recent evidence suggests that galectin-3 may also participate in the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. It has been shown that galectin-3 levels are higher in obese and diabetic individuals and parallel deterioration of glucose homeostasis. Two studies in galectin-3 knockout mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) have shown increased adiposity and adipose tissue and systemic inflammation associated with altered glucose homeostasis, suggesting that galectin-3 negatively modulates the responsiveness of innate and adaptive immunity to overnutrition. However, these studies have also shown that impaired glucose homeostasis occurs in galectin-3 knockout animals independently of obesity. Moreover, another study reported decreased weight and fat mass in HFD-fed galectin-3 knockout mice. In vitro, galectin-3 was found to stimulate differentiation of preadipocytes into mature adipocytes. Altogether, these data indicate that galectin-3 deserves further attention in order to clarify its role as a potential player and therapeutic target in obesity and type 2 diabetes.

• Authors: Stefano Menini, Carla Iacobini, Claudia Blasetti Fantauzzi, Carlo M Pesce, Giuseppe Pugliese
• Journal: Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity (Oxid Med Cell Longev) Vol. 2016 Pg. 9618092 ( 2016) ISSN: 1942-0994 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26770660 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Galectin 3
• Glucose

Topics

• Adipose Tissue (pathology)
• Animals
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (metabolism)
• Galectin 3 (chemistry, metabolism)
• Glucose (metabolism)
• Homeostasis
• Humans
• Obesity (metabolism)