Galectin-3: A Novel Marker for the Prediction of Stroke Incidence and Clinical Prognosis

Table 1

Structure and function of galectins found in humans [14, 69].

Galectin	Subfamily	Function	Main tissue distribution
Gal-1	Prototypical	Regulation of apoptosis; Cellular proliferation and differentiation	Nonspecific
Gal-2	Prototypical	Unknown	Gastrointestinal; Urogenital
Gal-3	Chimeric	Immunomodulation and recognition of cell membrane damage	Macrophages; Fetal membranes; Gastrointestinal
Gal-4	Tandem-repeat	Adherens junction formation	Gastrointestinal
Gal-7	Prototypical	Regulation of apoptosis; Control of cell growth	Skin; Oesophagus
Gal-8	Tandem-repeat	Recognition of cell membrane damage; Restricts infection by viral and bacterial pathogens	Nonspecific
Gal-9	Tandem-repeat	Immunomodulation; Bactericidal	Gastrointestinal
Gal-10	Prototypical	Immunoregulation; Forms Charcot-Leyden crystals in eosinophils	Bone marrow
Gal-12	Tandem-repeat	Regulation of apoptosis	Adipose; Breast
Gal-13	Prototypical	Regulation of apoptosis	Placenta
Gal-14	Prototypical	Regulation of apoptosis	Placenta
Gal-16	Monomer	Regulation of apoptosis	Placenta

Strong regulator of T-cell apoptosis.