Abstract

Galectin-1 requires a reducing environment for its lectin activity and the carbohydrate binding function is destroyed in oxidizing condition. In this report we provide direct evidence that the oxidation of goat hepatic galectin-1 perturbs its carbohydrate recognition domain and this could be due to changes in secondary structure of goat hepatic galectin-1. Conformational changes in goat hepatic galectin-1 due to oxidation were investigated by absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism measurements.

Keywords: galectin-1, oxidation, conformational change