Human ecalectin, a variant of human galectin-9, is a novel eosinophil chemoattractant produced by T lymphocytes.
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Matsumoto R, Matsumoto H, Seki M, Hata M, Asano Y, Kanegasaki S, Stevens RL, Hirashima M
Human ecalectin, a variant of human galectin-9, is a novel eosinophil chemoattractant produced by T lymphocytes.
J Biol Chem. 1998 Jul 3;273(27):16976-84.
- PubMed ID
- 9642261 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
A 1.6-kilobase pair cDNA was isolated from a human T-cell-derived expression library that encodes a novel eosinophil chemoattractant (designated ecalectin) expressed during allergic and parasitic responses. Based on its deduced amino acid sequence, ecalectin is a 36-kDa protein consisting of 323 amino acids. Although ecalectin lacks a hydrophobic signal peptide, it is secreted from mammalian cells. Ecalectin is not related to any known cytokine or chemokine but rather is a variant of human galectin-9, a member of the large family of animal lectins that have affinity for beta-galactosides. Recombinant ecalectin, expressed in COS cells and insect cells, exhibited potent eosinophil chemoattractant activity and attracted eosinophils in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner but not neutrophils, lymphocytes, or monocytes. The finding that the ecalectin transcript is present in abundance in various lymphatic tissues and that its expression increases substantially in antigen-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells suggests that ecalectin is an important T-cell-derived regulator of eosinophil recruitment in tissues during inflammatory reactions. We believe that this is the first report of the expression of an immunoregulatory galectin expressed by a T-cell line that is selective for eosinophils.