Exploring the impact of galectins on liver cancer: From immunopathogenesis to potential targets
Nevena M Gajovic, Ivan P Jovanovic, Miodrag V Jocic, Bojan Stojanovic, Irfan F Corovic, Nevena Todorovic, Bojana J Simovic Markovic, Amedeo Amedei
Nevena M Gajovic, Ivan P Jovanovic, Bojan Stojanovic, Irfan F Corovic, Bojana J Simovic Markovic, Center for Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia
Miodrag V Jocic, Institute for Transfusiology and Haemobiology, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
Bojan Stojanovic, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia
Irfan F Corovic, Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Novi Pazar, Novi Pazar 36300, Serbia
Nevena Todorovic, Amedeo Amedei, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Italy
Nevena Todorovic, Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
Amedeo Amedei, Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity, Universal Scientific Education and Research Network, Florence 50139, Italy
Co-corresponding authors: Bojana J Simovic Markovic and Amedeo Amedei.
Author contributions: Gajovic NM was responsible for designing and coordinating the study, conducting the literature review, analyzing the data, and drafting the manuscript; Jovanovic IP, Jocic MV, Stojanovic B, Corovic IF, and Todorovic N contributed to the study design, data analysis, and manuscript preparation; Stojanovic B developed the figure; Amedei A and Simovic Markovic BJ contributed equally to this work, providing expert guidance and participating in the critical revision of the manuscript; Simovic Markovic BJ offered continuous supervision of the conceptual development, provided immunological expertise relevant to galectin biology, and coordinated internal review stages; She also contributed to the refinement of argumentation, restructuring of sections for improved logical flow, and harmonization of terminology throughout the manuscript. Amedei A provided critical insight into tumor immunology and hepatocellular carcinoma pathophysiology, guided the scientific framing of key sections, and helped ensure clarity, coherence, and consistency of the manuscript across multiple revision rounds; these substantial contributions qualify both Amedei A and Simovic Markovic BJ as co-corresponding authors; All authors contributed to the drafting process and approved the final submitted version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Bojana J Simovic Markovic, Center for Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovic 69, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia.
bojana.simovic@gmail.com
Received: March 19, 2025
Revised: April 19, 2025
Accepted: June 12, 2025
Published online: July 7, 2025
Processing time: 107 Days and 13 Hours
