This gene encodes a member of the galectin family of carbohydrate binding proteins. Members of this protein family have an affinity for beta-galactosides. The encoded protein is characterized by an N-terminal proline-rich tandem repeat domain and a single C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain.
This protein can self-associate through the N-terminal domain allowing it to bind to multivalent saccharide ligands. This protein localizes to the extracellular matrix, the cytoplasm and the nucleus. This protein plays a role in numerous cellular functions including apoptosis, innate immunity, cell adhesion and T-cell regulation. The protein exhibits antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants.[provided by RefSeq, Oct 2014]
The galectins are a family of beta-galactoside-binding proteins implicated in modulating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. LGALS3BP has been found elevated in the serum of patients with cancer and in those infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
. It appears to be implicated in immune response associated with natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell cytotoxicity. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization the full length 90K cDNA has been localized to chromosome 17q25. The native protein binds specifically to a human macrophage-associated lectin known as Mac-2 and also binds galectin 1. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
17
78971255
78979923
Human
204
symbol , COSMIC , description , Human Proteome Map
Predicted to be involved in negative regulation of viral genome replication and response to virus. Predicted to be located in cytoplasm and plasma membrane. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Jul 2025]