Human multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells express different members of the galectin family with immunomodulatory functions

Human multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been shown to be immunomodulatory, e.g. by suppressing effector functions of T cells. The underlying mechanisms are still not completely understood. cDNA array analysis of MSC revealed that galectin-1 was highly expressed in MSC. Galectin-1 belongs to the family of galectins, which are soluble lectins. They can modulate immune effector functions by controlling cell activation, cytokine synthesis and viability through cross-linkage of glycoreceptors on the surface of lymphatic cells. In order to analyse the possible role of galectins in the immunomodulatory p…