galectin-1 is secreted into the extracellular space despite lacking signaling sequences required for secretion via the standard endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi pathway.
Extracellular galectin-1 has a slightly higher molecular weight (15 kDa) than the 14 kDa form found in cell lysates, suggesting
that the secreted galectin-1 undergoes further post-transational modifications before or after secretion [49].