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Galectin-3 regulates p21 stability in human prostate cancer cells

Oncogene volume 32, pages 5058–5065 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a multifunctional protein involved in cancer through regulation of cell adhesion, cell growth, apoptosis and metastasis, while p21 (Cip1/WAF1) is a negative regulator of the cell cycle, involved in apoptosis, transcription, DNA repair and metastasis. The results presented here demonstrate for the first time that the level of Gal-3 protein is associated with the level of p21 protein expression in human prostate cancer cells and the effects of Gal-3 on cell growth and apoptosis were reversed by modulating p21 expression level. Furthermore, Gal-3 regulates p21 expression at the post-translational level by stabilizing p21 protein via the carbohydrate-recognition domain. This is the first report suggesting a molecular function not yet described for Gal-3 as the regulator of p21 protein stability. This study provides a unique insight into the relationship of these two molecules during prostate cancer progression, and may provide a novel therapeutic target.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Reuben Lotan for providing Gal-3-transfected LNCaP clones. This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant R37CA46120-19 (A Raz) and the American Cancer Society grant 11-053-01-IRG (V Balan).

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  1. Department of Oncology, Tumor Progression and Metastasis, Karmanos Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Y Wang, V Balan, D Kho, V Hogan, P Nangia-Makker & A Raz

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Correspondence to P Nangia-Makker or A Raz.

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Wang, Y., Balan, V., Kho, D. et al. Galectin-3 regulates p21 stability in human prostate cancer cells. Oncogene 32, 5058–5065 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2012.528

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