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Galectins are a family of beta-galactoside-specific lectins bearing a conserved carbohydrate recognition domain. Interactions between galectins and poly-N-acetyllactosamine sequences are critical in a variety of biological processes. Galectin-9, a member of the galectin family, has two carbohydrate recognition domains at both the N- and C-terminal regions. Here we report the crystal structure of the human galectin-9 N-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain in complex with N-acetyllactosamine dimers and trimers. These complex structures revealed that the galectin-9 N-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain can recognize internal N-acetyllactosamine units within poly-N-acetyllactosamine chains. Based on these complex structures, we propose two putative recognition modes for poly-N-acetyllactosamine binding by galectins.

Citation

Masamichi Nagae, Nozomu Nishi, Takeomi Murata, Taichi Usui, Takanori Nakamura, Soichi Wakatsuki, Ryuichi Kato. Structural analysis of the recognition mechanism of poly-N-acetyllactosamine by the human galectin-9 N-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain. Glycobiology. 2009 Feb;19(2):112-7

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PMID: 18977853

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