Increased Serum Galectin-3 Level is Associated with Endothelial Dysfunction and Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Hypertension

Overview

Journal Heliyon

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2025 Jan 6

PMID 39758383

Authors

Hui-Sheng Wang

Bang-Gee Hsu

Ji-Hung Wang

Chiu-Fen Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Endothelial dysfunction can lead to various harmful cardiovascular complications. The importance of galectin-3 (Gal-3) has been proposed in some cardiac diseases related to chronic inflammation. However, its role in hypertension-induced endothelial dysfunction remains unclear.

Methods: We enrolled 120 patients with hypertension, assessed their baseline characteristics, and monitored their 7-year cardiovascular outcomes. We performed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure serum Gal-3 levels. The vascular reactivity index (VRI) was examined by digital thermal monitoring. Patients with VRI <1.0, 1.0 to <2.0, and ≥2.0 were defined as having poor, intermediate, and good vascular reactivity, respectively.

Results: Among the recruited patients, 12 had poor vascular reactivity, 57 had intermediate vascular reactivity, and 51 had good vascular reactivity. Older age, higher total cholesterol levels, higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, and higher Gal-3 levels were associated with poor endothelial dysfunction. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that age and Gal-3 levels were correlated with VRI. During the 7-year follow-up period, patients with higher Gal-3 levels had more cardiovascular events.

Conclusions: Higher Gal-3 levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction and unfavorable cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertension, suggesting its potential role in the hypertension-induced endothelial dysfunction.

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