Thiodigalactoside shows antitumour activity by beta-galactoside-binding protein and regulatory T cells inhibition in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Advances in Small Molecular Agents against Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is a common malignancy with a high mortality rate. Although surgery is the best treatment option for patients with cancer, this approach is ineffective for advanced metastases. Molecular agents are irreplaceable in preventing and treating distant metastases. This review aims to summarise the molecular agents used for the treatment of oral cancer in the last decade and describe their sources and curative effects. These agents are classified into phenols, isothiocyanates, anthraquinones, statins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and steroids. The mechanisms of action of these agents include regulating the expression of cell signalling pathways and related proteases to affect the proliferation, autophagy, migration, apoptosis, and other biological aspects of oral cancer cells. This paper may serve as a reference for subsequent studies on the treatment of oral cancer.

Galectin-3: a key player in microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and is characterized by the deposition of extracellular aggregates of amyloid-β (Aβ), the formation of intraneuronal tau neurofibrillary tangles and microglial activation-mediated neuroinflammation. One of the key molecules involved in microglial activation is galectin-3 (Gal-3). In recent years, extensive studies have dissected the mechanisms by which Gal-3 modulates microglial activation, impacting Aβ deposition, in both animal models and human studies. In this review article, we focus on the emerging role of Gal-3 in biology and pathobiology, including its origin, its functions in regulating microglial activation and neuroinflammation, and its emergence as a biomarker in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. These aspects are important to elucidate the involvement of Gal-3 in AD pathogenesis and may provide novel insights into the use of Gal-3 for AD diagnosis and therapy.

Targeting galectins in T cell-based immunotherapy within tumor microenvironment

Over the past few years, tumor immunotherapy has emerged as an innovative tumor treatment and owned incomparable advantages over other tumor therapy. With unique complexity and uncertainty, immunotherapy still need helper to apply in the clinic. Galectins, modulated in tumor microenvironment, can regulate the disorders of innate and adaptive immune system resisting tumor growth. Considering the role of galectins in tumor immunosuppression, combination therapy of targeted anti-galectins and immunotherapy may be a promising tumor treatment. This brief review summarizes the expression and immune functions of different galectins in tumor microenvironment and discusses the potential value of anti-galectins in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in tumor immunotherapy.

T-helper and T-regulatory cells modulation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most diffused cancer types, characterized by a high reoccurrence rate, mainly due to the inability of current therapeutic approaches to completely eradicate cancer cells. HNSCC patients often have defective immune functions, thus allowing cancer immune escape and cancer spreading. Particularly important in driving immune escape during HNSCC progression are T-helper and T-regulatory cells. New insights into their mechanisms of action might support the development of effective and long-lasting immunotherapy.