ArticleJournal of cellular physiology2012
Galectin-3 is a new MerTK-specific eat-me signal.
Article in Journal of cellular physiology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 118 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
118 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prognostic Value of Serum Galectin-3 in Chronic Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Aberrant expression of MERTK activates BCR via CD79a in CLL cells: alternative therapeutic strategy for relapsed/refractory CLL.Leukemia · 2026Article
- Expression, Localization and Actions of Galectin-3: Implications in the Pathophysiology and Therapy of Cardiovascular Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Differential selectivity of microglia and astrocytes in HIV-1 gp120-induced synaptic pruning.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Article
- Directing Neutrophil Fate via Sensory-Immune Interactions Accelerates Diabetic Bone Healing.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Efferocytosis: the art of cellular clearance and novel perspectives in disease therapy.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Aβ Deposition in Extracellular Space Disrupts Glial-Neuron Communication and Triggers Alzheimer's Disease.Aging and disease · 2025Review
- Loss of PTDSS1 in tumor cells improves immunogenicity and response to anti-PD-1 therapy.Science advances · 2025Article
- Impaired Efferocytosis of Pericytes and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Diabetic Retinopathy.Cells · 2025Review
- Reactive Microglia and Astrocytes as Therapeutic Targets in Prion Diseases.Sub-cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Molecular dynamics of inflammation resolution: therapeutic implications.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- AXL as immune regulator and therapeutic target in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: from current progress to novel strategies.Experimental hematology & oncology · 2024Review
- Article
- Dopaminergic neurons lacking Caspase-3 avoid apoptosis but undergo necrosis after MPTP treatment inducing a Galectin-3-dependent selective microglial phagocytic response.Cell death & disease · 2024Article
- Galectins induced from hemocytes bridge phosphatidylserine and N-glycosylated Drpr/CED-1 receptor during dendrite pruning.Nature communications · 2024Article
- The TAM Subfamily of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases: The Early Years.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Therapeutic targeting of the functionally elusive TAM receptor family.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2024Review
- From MASH to HCC: the role of Gas6/TAM receptors.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- The Role of Galectin-3 in Retinal Degeneration and Other Ocular Diseases: A Potential Novel Biomarker and Therapeutic Target.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- A Review: The Potential Involvement of Growth Arrest-Specific 6 and Its Receptors in the Pathogenesis of Lung Damage and in Coronavirus Disease 2019.Microorganisms · 2023Review
58 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and cellular debris is a critical process of maintaining tissue and immune homeostasis. Defects in the phagocytosis process cause autoimmunity and degenerative diseases. Phagocytosis ligands or "eat-me" signals control the initiation of the process by linking apoptotic cells to receptors on phagocyte surface and triggering signaling cascades for cargo engulfment. Eat-me signals are traditionally identified on a case-by-case basis with challenges, and the identification of their cognate receptors is equally daunting. Here, we identified galectin-3 (Gal-3) as a new MerTK ligand by an advanced dual functional cloning strategy, in which phagocytosis-based functional cloning is combined with receptor-based affinity cloning to directly identify receptor-specific eat-me signal. Gal-3 interaction with MerTK was independently verified by co-immunoprecipitation. Functional analyses showed that Gal-3 stimulated the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and cellular debris by macrophages and retinal pigment epithelial cells with MerTK activation and autophosphorylation. The Gal-3-mediated phagocytosis was blocked by excessive soluble MerTK extracellular domain and lactose. These results suggest that Gal-3 is a legitimate MerTK-specific eat-me signal. The strategy of dual functional cloning with applicability to other phagocytic receptors will facilitate unbiased identification of their unknown ligands and improve our capacity for therapeutic modulation of phagocytic activity and innate immune response.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.