Resumo

TOSCANO, Marta A. et al. How do protein-glycan interactions regulate T-cell physiology?. Medicina (B. Aires) [online]. 2006, vol.66, n.4, pp.357-362. ISSN 0025-7680.

Recent evidence indicates that protein-glycan interactions play a critical role in different events associated with the physiology of T-cell responses including thymocyte maturation, T-cell activation, lymphocyte migration and T-cell apoptosis. Glycans decorating T-cell surface glycoproteins can modulate T-cell physiology by specifically interacting with endogenous lectins including selectins and galectins. These endogenous lectins are capable of recognizing sugar structures localized on T-cell surface glycoproteins and trigger different signal transduction pathways leading to differentiation, proliferation, cell cycle regulation or apoptosis. Protein-carbohydrate interactions may be controlled at different levels, including regulated expression of lectins during T-cell maturation and differentiation and the spatio-temporal regulation of glycosyltransferases and glycosidases, which create and modify sugar structures present in T-cell surface glycoproteins. This article briefly reviews the mechanisms by which protein-carbohydrate interactions modulate immunological processes such as T-cell activation, migration and apoptosis.

Palavras-chave : T lymphocytes; Glycosylation; Glycosyltransferases; Selectins; Galectins; Galectin-1.

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