Lectins and Cancer

Hans-Joachim Gabius obtained his Ph.D. in 1982 at the Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen. After doing post-doctoral research from 1984-1985 in the group of S. H. Barondes at the UC San Diego, he was appointed first as assistant professor for biochemistry at the Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen (1987) and then as associate professor for pharmaceutical chemistry atthe University of Marburg (1991). Since 1993 he is heading the Institute for Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Munich. Prof. Gabius received numerous research awards including the Otto-Hahn-Medal (1983), the Award of the Dr. Carl-Duisberg-Foundation (1988) and the Award of the Paul-Martini-Foundation (1990). His research interests are focused on chemical, biophysical and biochemical analysis of protein - carbohydrate interactions with biomedical relevance, such as the development of glycoscientific strategies for tumor diagnosis and therapy and the elucidation of functions of mammalian lectins. His research led to a prominent placement in the ISI ranking of highly cited papers in 1998.

Molecular basis of lectin-carbohydrate interactions.- Invertebrate lectins: new aspects in retrospects.- Narcissus and Gerardia lectins: Tools for the development of a vaccine against AIDS and a new ELISA to quantify HIV-gp 120.- Lectin histochemistry of human thyroid tumors.- Neoglycoconjugates: Fundamentals and recent progresses.- Neoglycoproteins and lectins in human lung cancer: A survey.- How to localize ?-galactoside-specific endogenous lectins and their ligands in tissue sections: A comparison of the application of different histochemical tools in breast cancer.- Endogenous receptors for carbohydrate ligands in human renal cell carcinoma.- Brain, nerves and muscles: Neoglycoproteins in the practice of neuromorphology and neuropathology 123.- Site-associated differences in endogenous lectin expression by mouse colon carcinoma cells.- Differentiation-associated modulation of lactose- binding lectins in cancer cells.- Change in metastasis and organotropism of mouse lymphoma variants associated with changes in expression of adhesion molecules and chemotactic responsiveness.- Biomodulation: An integrated approach to access and manipulate biological information.- Immunotherapeutic effects of purified mistletoe lectin (ML-I) on murine large cell lymphoma.- The rationale of mitogenic lectin therapy for cancer.- New perspectives in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia by hematopoietic growth factors 229.- Enzyme replacement therapy with macrophage-targeted human placental glucocerebrosidase in Gaucher disease.- Preparation of neoglycoprotein-bearing liposomes and their interaction with cells and tissues.- Membrane recognition of steroid-glycoprotein complexes: A model for steroid delivery to the target cells.- Tumor cell-bone marrow stromal cell interaction: Neoglycoproteins as tools in leukemia research.- Cell surface glycans influence the fate of circulating white blood cells.- Fertilization: A model for cell-cell interaction.- Endogenous mannose-binding lectins in brain development and function.