LGALS3 and Alzheimer disease: Expression of disease-associated microglia (DAM)-genes was also reduced in 5xFAD/Gal3-KO.86 Plaque-associated microglia expressed not only Gal-3 but also Clec7a, a major DAM gene.86 Crucially, in WT mice, injections of recombinant human Gal-3 along with Aβ-fibrils into the hippocampus, increased the formation of Aβ plaques compared to Ab injections alone.86 These studies strongly suggested that Gal-3 could induce AD histopathology symptoms, but they do not address Gal-3 function in sporadic AD.