Effect of galectins on viral transmission

Recent reports suggest that some galectins bind to enveloped viruses. They include influenza virus, human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1), and Nipah virus. It is also suggested that the interaction between viruses and galectins influences viral attachment to their susceptible cells, affecting the viral infectivity. Our work suggests that galectin-1 increases the infectivity of HIV-1 and HTVL-1. Indeed, galectin-1 promotes the initial adsorption of HIV-1 to CD4(+) cells through its binding to viral envelope gp120 and facilitates HIV-1 infection in a manner that is dependent on its recognition of β-galactoside residues. Thus, as galectin-1 can be considered as a pattern recognition receptor, HIV-1 exploits this host factor to promote its transmission or replication. In this chapter, we describe methods used to investigate this potential role of galectins in HIV-1 infection as a case in point for future studies on galectin-virus interactions.