A New Approach to Inhibit Prototypic Galectins

Abstract

Given the critical role of galectins in cancer and other diseases, considerable efforts have been deployed towards the development of carbohydrate-based inhibitors that limit the binding of galectins to glycosylated residues on cell surface receptors. However, despite decades of research, progress in this field has not met expectations. In this article, we discuss the rationale justifying the development of a new class of galectin-specific peptide inhibitors that disrupt the formation of a prototypic galectin and its protumorigenic functions. These dimer interfering peptides (DIPs) represent an interesting alternative—and possibly a complementary avenue—to neutralize galectin-mediated protumoral functions. If validated, the approach could broaden the classes of galectin inhibitors that can be readily generated against other prototypic galectins, and possibly all other galectin subtypes.