Affiliation: | 1. CIC bioGUNE, Basque Research Technology Alliance, BRTA, Bizkaia Technology park, Building 800, 48160 Derio, Spain;2. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, CSIC, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain
CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3–5, 28029 Madrid, Spain;3. CIC bioGUNE, Basque Research Technology Alliance, BRTA, Bizkaia Technology park, Building 800, 48160 Derio, Spain
Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
Department of Organic Chemistry II, Faculty of Science and Technology, UPV-EHU, 48940 Leioa, Spain |
Abstract: | Carbohydrates play a pivotal role in intercellular communication processes. In particular, glycan antigens are key for sustaining homeostasis, helping leukocytes to distinguish damaged tissues and invading pathogens from healthy tissues. From a structural perspective, this cross-talk is fairly complex, and multiple membrane proteins guide these recognition processes, including lectins and Toll-like receptors. Since the beginning of this century, lectins have become potential targets for therapeutics for controlling and/or avoiding the progression of pathologies derived from an incorrect immune outcome, including infectious processes, cancer, or autoimmune diseases. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of these receptors is mandatory for the development of specific treatments. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about four key C-type lectins whose importance has been steadily growing in recent years, focusing in particular on how glycan recognition takes place at the molecular level, but also looking at recent progresses in the quest for therapeutics. |