The Number of Liver Galectin-3 Positive Cells Is Dually Correlated with NAFLD Severity in Children

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2019-07, Vol.20 (14), p.3460
• Main Authors: de Oliveira, Felipe Leite, Panera, Nadia, De Stefanis, Cristiano, Mosca, Antonella, D'Oria, Valentina, Crudele, Annalisa, De Vito, Rita, Nobili, Valerio, Alisi, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Advanced glycosylation end products; Age Factors; Alanine; Alanine transaminase; Antigens, CD - metabolism; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic - metabolism; Aspartate aminotransferase; Bile ducts; Bile Ducts - metabolism; Biomarkers; Biopsy; Cell injury; Child; Children; Collagen; Correlation; Female; Galectin 3 - metabolism; Galectin-3; Galectin-3 (Gal-3); Gene expression; Glycosylation; Hepatocytes; Hepatocytes - metabolism; Humans; Inflammation; Lipids; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis - etiology; Liver Cirrhosis - pathology; liver damage; Liver diseases; liver fibrosis; Liver Function Tests; Localization; macrophage polarization; Macrophages - immunology; Macrophages - metabolism; Macrophages - pathology; Male; Metabolism; Morphology; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - diagnosis; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - etiology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - metabolism; Pathogenesis; Peroxide; Population; Prognosis; Severity of Illness Index; Steatosis; Triglycerides
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms20143460

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex disease ranging from steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Galectin-3 (Gal-3), which is a β-galactoside binding protein, has been associated with liver fibrosis, but its role in NAFLD remains elusive. We investigated the expression of Gal-3 in liver resident cells and its potential association with liver damage in 40 children with biopsy-proven NAFLD. We found that several liver cells expressed Gal-3. The number of total Gal-3 positive cells decreased with the severity of disease and the cells were correlated with the presence of steatosis and the diagnosis of NASH. CD68 macrophages expressed Gal-3 but the number CD68/Gal-3 positive cells was significantly reduced in patients diagnosed with steatosis and NASH. Triple CD68/CD206/Gal-3, which represented the subpopulation of M2 macrophages, were mainly present in patients without NASH, and clearly reduced in patients with steatosis and NASH. On the contrary, the number of α-smooth muscle actin (SMA)/Gal-3 positive cells increased with the severity of fibrosis in children with NAFLD. Our data demonstrated that the number of Gal-3 positive cells was associated with tissue damage in different ways, which suggests a dual role of this protein in the pathogenesis of pediatric NAFLD, even if the role of Gal-3 deserves further studies.