Galectin 14 (GAL14)

Galectin 14(GAL14), also known as placental protein 13-like (PPL13),  belongs to a family of proteins called galectins. Galectins are lectins containing 1 or 2 carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs), and they show calcium-independent binding of beta-galactoside. Yang et al. (2002) cloned GAL14 from a fetal brain cDNA library. The deduced 139-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 16.1 kD. GAL14 contains a single CRD domain and several putative phosphorylation sites, but no signal peptide or targeting signals. The GAL14 protein shares 78%, 67%, and 54% amino acid identity with the PP13, galectin-10 (CLC; 153310), and sheep ovgal11 proteins, respectively. It is expressed intracellularly in placenta and eosinophils and is released by eosinophils following allergen stimulation. Galectin-14 may be involved in the development of allergic inflammation.