Galectin-1 in Psoriatic arthritis, Psoriasis, Rheumatoid arthritis and its relation with disease activity and skin lesion

Abstract

Immune mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are a diverse range of diseases that affect joints with early overlapping symptoms. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are the most common disorders sharing immune-pathogenic mechanisms that cause peripheral arthritis. Psoriasis (Ps) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune skin disease characterized by epidermal hyperplasia with significant invasion by inflammatory cells. New biomarkers are required to enable an early diagnosis and differentiation between different types of IMIDs. In autoimmune disorders, galectin 1 (Gal-1) is a recognized as negative immune system regulator. This study aimed to determine the possibility of using gal–1 as a diagnostic marker to differentiate between RA and PsA with polyarthritis pattern, and between PsA and Ps, and to assess its relationship with disease activity and with skin lesion. In this case-control study included 40 PsA patients with polyarthritis pattern, 40 psoriatic patients, 40 RA patients and 20 normal controls. Gal-1 levels were measured in serum and skin biopsy and disease Activity Score (DAS-ESR) was assessed. Serum gal-1 level was significantly higher in RA group in comparison to PsA, psoriatic and control. In addition, compared to the normal group, psoriatic skin lesions from PsA and Ps patients had lower levels of gal-1. Serum gal-1 levels in the RA group did not correlate with other factors such as age, disease duration, deformity, extra-articular symptoms, or DAS-ESR. Furthermore, there was no correlation between the skin’s level of gal-1 and psoriatic area and severity index (PASI) score, body surface area (BSA). In conclusion, serum Gal-1 concentration may serve as a diagnostic biomarker to distinguish between RA and PsA. However, it cannot assess activity or severity of RA, and cannot differentiate psoriatic lesion either from only Ps or PsA.

Evaluation of Plasma Concentrations of Galectins-1, 2 and 12 in Psoriasis and Their Clinical Implications

“…Analyzing different clinical aspects of our patients, we did not observe a direct correlation between gal-1 concentrations, suggesting increased metabolic burden, according to the skin lesions severity or psoriasis duration. In comparison, in the study by ElBably et al, skin gal-1 did not correlate with PASI or BSA either [20]. Importantly, gal-1 turned out to be significantly higher in male patients compared to female ones highlighting the higher possibility of metabolic complications in men, including psoriatics.…”

“…The first of the galectins that we studied, gal-1, is the best-characterized galectin and has already been studied in psoriasis; however, the aims of the authors were different from ours and analyzed from an immunological point of view [20]. In the very recent paper by El Bably et al from 2023, the goal was to distinguish between rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and solely psoriasis based on gal-1 assessment [20].…”

“…In the very recent paper by El Bably et al from 2023, the goal was to distinguish between rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and solely psoriasis based on gal-1 assessment [20]. They found that gal-1 was significantly higher in patients with RA compared to PsA or psoriasis [20]. Gal-1 has been also assessed in psoriatic tissue and found to be increased in the dermis and epidermis compared to controls in one study [31], but decreased, along with lower mRNA expression in two others [20,31,32].…”

“…They found that gal-1 was significantly higher in patients with RA compared to PsA or psoriasis [20]. Gal-1 has been also assessed in psoriatic tissue and found to be increased in the dermis and epidermis compared to controls in one study [31], but decreased, along with lower mRNA expression in two others [20,31,32].…”

“…Hence, we decided to investigate them in psoriasis, especially since gal-2 and 12 have never been studied in this disease. So far, only gal-1, 3, 7, 8 and 9 have been studied in psoriasis, either in blood or tissue or both [17][18][19][20][21].…”