{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T10:57:17Z","timestamp":1788519437123,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,21]],"date-time":"2025-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758412800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["JP20K09091"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP20K09091"]}]},{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["JP21K08699"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP21K08699"]}]},{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["JPMJCR20R3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JPMJCR20R3"]}]},{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["JP22gm1610010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP22gm1610010"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002241","name":"JST CREST","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["JP20K09091"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP20K09091"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002241","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002241","name":"JST CREST","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["JP21K08699"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP21K08699"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002241","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002241","name":"JST CREST","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["JPMJCR20R3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JPMJCR20R3"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002241","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002241","name":"JST CREST","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["JP22gm1610010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP22gm1610010"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002241","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"AMED-CREST","award":["JP20K09091"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP20K09091"]}]},{"name":"AMED-CREST","award":["JP21K08699"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP21K08699"]}]},{"name":"AMED-CREST","award":["JPMJCR20R3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JPMJCR20R3"]}]},{"name":"AMED-CREST","award":["JP22gm1610010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP22gm1610010"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In malignant-type gastric cancer, peritoneal dissemination is the most frequent metastatic process and is an inoperable condition for which effective treatment is lacking. Our research has revealed that galectin-4 plays an important role in the peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer cells. Based on this, we hypothesized that inhibiting galectin-4 could suppress peritoneal metastasis. The inhibitory activity towards galectin-4 binding was evaluated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while the suppressive effect on gastric cancer cell proliferation was assessed using an adenosine triphosphate-based cell viability assay. Direct binding to galectin-4 was examined by surface plasmon resonance analysis. Chemically synthesized fucoidan analogs exhibited significant suppressive activity against the proliferation of gastric cancer cells, partly via a galectin-4-mediated pathway. Among the 13 fucoidan analogs tested, analog 10, whose sugar chains composed of repeating 2,3-O-sulfated \u03b1(1,4)-linked L-fucose, showed significant inhibitory activity against galectin-4 binding and cell proliferation. 14, the cholestanol-conjugated analog 10, exhibited a pronounced increase in inhibitory activity, consistent with potential multimerization. Molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis studies revealed that Arginine-45 in galectin-4 is important for binding to fucoidan analogs. In conclusion, fucoidan analogs with a strong affinity for galectin-4 are promising candidates for inhibiting the peritoneal metastasis of galectin-4-positive gastric cancer cells.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26189228","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T13:04:44Z","timestamp":1758546284000},"page":"9228","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Inhibitory Effect of Fucoidan Analogs on Highly Metastatic Gastric Cancer Cells via Galectin-4 Inhibition"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-5005-3046","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shuting","family":"Ji","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Glycobiology, The Noguchi Institute, 1-9-7, Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0003, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maniyamma","family":"Aswathy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Kanagawa, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuya","family":"Kuboki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Kanagawa, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yoshio","family":"Takada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Glycobiology, The Noguchi Institute, 1-9-7, Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0003, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazunobu","family":"Toshima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Kanagawa, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3222-6648","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daisuke","family":"Takahashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Kanagawa, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hiroko","family":"Ideo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Glycobiology, The Noguchi Institute, 1-9-7, Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0003, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pihlak, R., Fong, C., and Starling, N. 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