Selectins

Selectins are a family of cell adhesion molecules that play a vital role in a broad range of biological functions including inflammation, cancer progression, and immune cell trafficking. Selectins bind to carbohydrate structures on the surface of cells, mediating the capture and rolling of circulating cells on the vascular endothelium and enabling the later steps of transendothelial migration and lymph node metastasis. Selectins are important for proper immune cell function, and defects in selectin expression and function can lead to immunological and autoimmune disorders. Selectins are of significant clinical significance and are thus important targets of therapeutic intervention in the treatment of a variety of diseases.