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Isolation of Human Lymphatic Endothelial Cells by Multi-parameter Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting
Published on: May 1, 2015
Galectin-8 interacts with podoplanin and modulates lymphatic endothelial cell functions
1Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Experimental Cell Research
|March 10, 2009
Summary
Researchers discovered that galectin-8 interacts with podoplanin, a protein crucial for lymphatic vessels. This interaction influences lymphatic endothelial cell behavior, suggesting a role in connecting lymphatic vessels to their environment.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Podoplanin is a glycoprotein essential for lymphatic vasculature formation and function, but its molecular role is unclear.
- Podoplanin is highly expressed on lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) but not blood vascular endothelial cells (BECs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel interaction partners of podoplanin.
- To investigate the functional role of galectin-8 in lymphatic endothelial cells.
Main Methods:
- Co-immunoprecipitation to identify podoplanin-interacting proteins.
- Cell adhesion assays.
- Haptotactic migration assays.
- Tube formation assays in collagen matrices.
- Immunohistochemistry to assess protein expression in lymphatic and blood vessels.
Main Results:
- Galectin-8 was identified as a novel, glycosylation-dependent binding partner of podoplanin.
- Galectin-8 expression is enriched in LECs, similar to podoplanin.
- Immobilized galectin-8 promotes LEC adhesion and haptotactic migration.
- Galectin-8 inhibits LEC tube formation in collagen matrices.
- Galectin-8 does not affect BEC functions, consistent with their lack of podoplanin expression.
Conclusions:
- Galectin-8 and podoplanin cooperate to regulate LEC adhesion and migration.
- These proteins likely facilitate the connection of lymphatic endothelium to the extracellular matrix.
- The findings highlight a specific role for galectin-8 in lymphatic vascular biology.
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