The fibrosis marker galectin‐3 and outcome in the general population

Abstract

Abstract. de Boer RA, van Veldhuisen DJ, Gansevoort RT, Muller Kobold AC, van Gilst WH, Hillege HL, Bakker SJL, van der Harst P (University of Groningen). The fibrosis marker galectin-3 and outcome in the general population. J Intern Med 2012; 272: 55-64.Objective. Galectin-3 is involved in fibrosis and inflammation and plays a role in heart failure, renal disease, obesity and cancer. We aimed to establish the relationship between galectin-3 and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and mortality in the general population.Design and subjects. This study included 7968 subjects from the Prevention of REnal and Vascular ENd-stage Disease (PREVEND) cohort, with a median follow-up of approximately 10 years. Plasma galectin-3 was measured in baseline samples.Main outcome measures. We investigated the relationships between galectin-3 levels, demographic characteristics and risk factors of CV disease. We determined the prognostic value for all-cause, CV and cancer mortality.Results. The mean age of the population was 50 ± 13 years. Mean blood pressure was 129 ⁄ 74 mmHg, mean cholesterol was 5.7 ± 1.1 mmol L )1 and median galectin-3 was 10.9 ng mL )1 [interquartile range (IQR) 9.0-13.1]. Galectin-3 levels correlated with a wide range of risk factors of CV disease, including blood pressure, serum lipids, body mass index, renal function and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (P < 0.0001). We observed a strong association between galectin-3 and age. Furthermore, we found a gender interaction, with female subjects (n = 4001) having higher median galectin-3 levels (11.0 ng mL )1 , IQR 9.1-13.4 vs. men (n = 3967) 10.7 ng mL )1 , IQR 8.9-12.8; P < 0.0001), and galectin-3 levels in women more strongly correlated with risk factors of CV disease. After correction for the classical CV risk factors (smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes), galectin-3 levels independently predicted all-cause mortality (hazard ratio per SD galectin-3 1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.19; P = 0.036), but not CV and cancer mortality separately.Conclusions. Galectin-3 is associated with age and risk factors of CV disease, with a strong gender interaction for these correlations. Galectin-3 predicts all-cause mortality in the general population.

Galectin-3 in acute coronary syndrome

“…Among these, Gal-3 has been recently investigated. Although it has been validated as an independent prognostic biomarker in both acute and chronic heart failure (HF) and it has been proposed to predict HF and all-cause mortality in the general population, its precise role in ACS has not yet been fully clarified [9][10][11].…”

Association between circulating galectin-3 levels and the immunological, inflammatory and nutritional parameters in patients with colorectal cancer

“…When expressed on the surface of tumor cells, galectin-3 has a role as an adhesion molecule in cell-to-cell or cell-to-matrix interactions (6). Circulating galectin-3 has been reported to be produced by activated macrophages, mast cells, eosinophils and tumor cells (7).…”

Galectina-3: experiencia en pacientes chilenos con diagnóstico de insuficiencia cardíaca descompensada

“…Cuando los pacientes incorporados en este estudio fueron categorizados de acuerdo a los niveles de Gal-3 se hace evidente la asociación entre pacientes de mayor edad y con antecedentes de HTA con valores de Gal-3 elevados, lo que es concordante con lo encontrado por otros autores 19,20 . Otras variables sociodemográficas y de laboratorio no mostraron asociación significativa con los niveles de Gal-3, aun cuando se observó una tendencia a valores mayores de Gal-3 en individuos con tres o más comorbilidades, portadores de FA o con FEVI preservada.…”