Table 1.

Described functions for the three main galectins (Gals) on immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. NK, natural killer; DC, dendritic cell; MDSC, myeloid-derived suppressor cell.

Cell Types	Myeloid Cells	T Lymphocytes	Other Tumor-Associated Cells
Galectin-1	Promotes DC maturation [69,70,71,72,73] Promotes tolerogenic DC [23] Promotes MDSC differentiation [28]	Induces apoptosis [16,74,75] Intrinsic control of T cell function [53,76] Induction of Tregs [37]	Endothelial cells: neoangiogenesis [48,49] NK cells: control of function [77]
Galectin-3	Regulates monocyte/macrophage differentiation [75,77] Regulates DC properties [73,78,79]	Induces apoptosis [62]	Platelets: promotes metastasis [80]
Galectin-9	Promotes M2 macrophages [81,82,83] Promotes MDSC differentiation [83] Promotes DC maturation and function [73,79]	Induces apoptosis [74] Regulation of function [73,78,79]	NK cells: control of function [84]