Patent 7186681 was granted and assigned to La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology on March, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention relates to methods of modulating cell migration, particularly, monocyte, neutrophil or macrophage migration, using galectin-3, galectin-3 binding polypeptide, or galectin-3 receptor binding polypeptide. Specifically provided are methods for increasing cell migration to sites of inflammation, infection or a tumor. Also provided are methods for identifying agents that modulate galectin-3 mediated migration, compositions containing galectin-3 or a functional subsequence thereof, and microfabricated devices that deliver galectin-3 or functional galectin-3 subsequences.