LGALS2

Chr 22

galectin 3

Also known as: CBP35, GAL3, GALBP, GALIG, L31, LGALS2, MAC2

NCBI Gene: 3958ENSG00000100079UniProt: P05162

This gene encodes a member of the galectin family of carbohydrate binding proteins. Members of this protein family have an affinity for beta-galactosides. The encoded protein is characterized by an N-terminal proline-rich tandem repeat domain and a single C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain. This protein can self-associate through the N-terminal domain allowing it to bind to multivalent saccharide ligands. This protein localizes to the extracellular matrix, the cytoplasm and the nucleus. This protein plays a role in numerous cellular functions including apoptosis, innate immunity, cell adhesion and T-cell regulation. The protein exhibits antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants.[provided by RefSeq, Oct 2014]

Primary Disease Associations & Inheritance

{Myocardial infarction, susceptibility to}MIM #608446
51
ClinVar variants
19
Pathogenic / LP
0.02
pLI score
2
Active trials
Clinical Summary— LGALS2
⚡
Population Constraint (gnomAD)
Low constraint (pLI 0.02) — loss-of-function variants are relatively tolerated in the population.
📋
ClinVar Variants
19 Pathogenic / Likely Pathogenic· 23 VUS of 51 total submissions
💊
Clinical Trials
2 active or recruiting trials — potential therapeutic options may be available

Population Genetics & Constraint

gnomAD v4 — loss-of-function & missense intolerance

gnomAD
Tolerant — LoF & missense variants common in population
LoF Constraint?LOEUF (Loss-of-function Observed/Expected Upper bound Fraction) is the upper bound of the 90% CI for LoF OE — the preferred gnomAD v4 metric. Lower = more intolerant to LoF. LOEUF < 0.35 = highly constrained.
1.48LOEUF
pLI 0.020
Z-score 0.86
OE 0.59 (0.27–1.48)
Tolerant

Highly tolerant — LoF variants common in population

Missense Constraint?Missense Z-score: standard deviations fewer missense variants observed vs. expected. Z > 3.09 (p < 0.001) = gene does not tolerate missense variation. OE missense < 0.6 is also considered constrained.
-0.36Z-score
OE missense 1.12 (0.94–1.34)
83 obs / 74.2 exp
Tolerant

Tolerant to missense variation

Observed / Expected Ratios?Shaded band = 90% confidence interval. Vertical tick = point estimate. Grey threshold line = gnomAD constraint cutoff for that variant class.
LoF OE?Ratio of observed to expected LoF variants. Upper CI bound (LOEUF) ≤ 0.35 = strong LoF constraint signal.0.59 (0.27–1.48)
0≤0.351.4
Missense OE?Ratio of observed to expected missense variants. OE ≤ 0.6 = fewer missense variants than expected by chance.1.12 (0.94–1.34)
0≤0.61.4
Synonymous OE?Control metric — synonymous variants are largely neutral and expected near OE = 1.0. Significant deviation may indicate annotation issues.1.07
0≤1.21.6
LoF obs/exp: 3 / 5.1Missense obs/exp: 83 / 74.2Syn Z: -0.31

ClinVar Variant Classifications

51 submitted variants in ClinVar

ClinVar

Classification Summary

Pathogenic18
Likely Pathogenic1
VUS23
Likely Benign3
Benign1
Conflicting1
18
Pathogenic
1
Likely Pathogenic
23
VUS
3
Likely Benign
1
Benign
1
Conflicting

Curated Variants Distribution

Classified variants from ClinVar · 5 ACMG categories

ClassificationLoFMissense + InframeNon-codingSynonymousTotal
Pathogenic
0
0
18
0
18
Likely Pathogenic
0
0
1
0
1
VUS
0
19
4
0
23
Likely Benign
0
2
0
1
3
Benign
0
1
0
0
1
Conflicting
—1
Total02223147

LoF = frameshift, stop gained/lost, canonical splice · Counts from ClinVar esearch · Updated hourly

View in ClinVar →

Protein Context — Lollipop Plot

LGALS2 · protein map & ClinVar variants

Showing all ClinVar variants across the protein. Search a specific variant to highlight its position.

OMIM — Genotype-Phenotype Relationships

1 OMIM entry

OMIM

{Myocardial infarction, susceptibility to}

MIM #608446

Molecular basis of disorder known

Clinical Literature
Landmark / reviewRecent case evidence
Key Publications
Landmark & review papers · by relevance
PubMed
Deciphering the role of LGALS2: insights into tertiary lymphoid structure-associated dendritic cell activation and immunotherapeutic potential in breast cancer patients.
Li S et al.·Mol Cancer
2024Cohort
Investigation of LGALS2 expression in the TCGA database reveals its clinical relevance in breast cancer immunotherapy and drug resistance.
He S et al.·Sci Rep
2023
Polymorphisms of LTA, LGALS2, and PSMA6 genes and coronary atherosclerosis: a pathological study of 1503 consecutive autopsy cases.
Ikeda S et al.·Atherosclerosis
2012Cohort
Gene polymorphisms of LGALS2, LGALS3 and LGALS9 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Xu WD et al.·Cell Immunol
2021Cohort
Exploring the molecular mechanisms and shared gene signatures between rheumatoid arthritis and diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
Li H et al.·Front Immunol
2022Functional
Galectin-2 3279TT variant protects against the lymphotoxin-alpha 252GG genotype associated ischaemic stroke.
Szolnoki Z et al.·Clin Neurol Neurosurg
2009
Genetic susceptibility to myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease.
Topol EJ et al.·Hum Mol Genet
2006Review
LGALS2 functional variant rs7291467 is not associated with susceptibility to myocardial infarction in Caucasians.
Mangino M et al.·Atherosclerosis
2007Functional
Pediococcus pentosaceus B49 from human colostrum ameliorates constipation in mice.
Huang J et al.·Food Funct
2020
Hub Gene and Its Key Effects on Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma by Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis.
Ma C et al.·Biomed Res Int
2021
Top 10 resultsSearch PubMed ↗
Recent Gene-Specific Literature
Gene in title · MEDLINE · newest first
Europe PMC
Top 5 resultsSearch Europe PMC ↗

Clinical Trials

Active and recruiting trials from ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov
Cardiomyopathy Due to Drug

Myocardial Fibrosis Identification in Patients With Anthracycline-induced Cardiotoxicity

RECRUITING
NCT06331806Phase NAEuropean Institute of OncologyStarted 2018-02-22
Evaluation of myocardial fibrosis
Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF)Chronic Heart Failure

Vericiguat and Reverse Remodeling Indices in Heart Failure

RECRUITING
NCT07405944Phase PHASE4University Medical Centre LjubljanaStarted 2025-11-01
VericiguatGuideline Directed Medical Therapy for Heart Failure (GDMT)

External Resources

Links to major genomics databases and tools