Research Progress on Galectin-3 in the Pathogenesis of Endometriosis
ZHOU Yuan
WANG Zhen-zhen
CAO Meng-dong
SHEN Xue
Abstract：The pathogenesis of endometriosis(EMs),as a common and difficult gynecological disease,is not very clear.The possible mechanisms include chronic inflammation,neovascularization,estrogen dependence,weakened progesterone response,epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrosis,etc.Galectin-3 is the only member of the Galectinin family with a chimeric structure.It participates in mutiple biological processes such as cell adhesion,migration,invasion,angiogenesis and fibrosis,which is closely related to the occurrence of cancer and inflammatory diseases.The correlation between Galectin-3 and EMs has received the extensive attention in recent years.The latest studies have shown that the overexpression of Galectin-3 can affect the occurrence and development of EMs by promoting the survival of inflammatory cells,epithelial-mesenchymal transition,fibrosis,and participating in the regulation of sex hormones.This article summarizes the functions of Galectin-3 and its correlation with the pathophysiology of EMs,with the aim of providing new ideas for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of EMs.
Keywords：EndometriosisGalectin 3InflammationEpithelial-mesenchymal transitionNeovascularizationpathologicFibrosisGonadal steroid hormones
Publication Date：2025-09-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-10-30(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 429-433 )