Galectin-3 levels are associated with right ventricular functional and morphologic changes in pulmonary arterial hypertension

• Published in: Heart and vessels 2016-06, Vol.31 (6), p.939-946
• Main Authors: Fenster, Brett E., Lasalvia, Luis, Schroeder, Joyce D., Smyser, Jamey, Silveira, Lori J., Buckner, J. Kern, Brown, Kevin K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed; Fibrosis; Galectin 3 - blood; Heart; Humans; Hyaluronic Acid - blood; Hypertension; Hypertension, Pulmonary - blood; Hypertension, Pulmonary - complications; Hypertension, Pulmonary - diagnosis; Hypertension, Pulmonary - physiopathology; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular - blood; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular - diagnosis; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular - etiology; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Multimodal Imaging - methods; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Original Article; Peptide Fragments - blood; Pilot Projects; Predictive Value of Tests; Procollagen - blood; Prospective Studies; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 - blood; Up-Regulation; Vascular Surgery; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - blood; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - diagnosis; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - etiology; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - physiopathology; Ventricular Function, Right; Ventricular Pressure; Ventricular Remodeling
• ISSN: 0910-8327; 1615-2573
• DOI: 10.1007/s00380-015-0691-z

The response of the right ventricle (RV) to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) involves changes in contractile function, chamber size, hypertrophy, and extracellular matrix (ECM). Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a mediator of myocardial ECM metabolism and biomarker for left heart remodeling, yet its ability to reflect RV remodeling is unknown. We hypothesized that serum Gal-3 levels correlate with RV morphology and function in PAH, and that Gal-3 is associated with circulating markers of ECM. Fifteen subjects with PAH and 10 age-matched controls underwent same-day echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, and phlebotomy for Gal-3 and ECM biomarkers including N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen type (PIIINP), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), and hyaluronic acid (HA). RV ejection fraction, end diastolic volume index, end systolic volume index, and mass index were calculated using CMR. Echocardiography was used to estimate RV systolic pressure and measure RV strain. Serum Gal-3, TIMP-1, and HA levels were all significantly increased in PAH subjects when compared to controls. Gal-3 correlated with RV ejection fraction ( ρ −0.44, p 0.03), end diastolic volume index ( ρ 0.42, p 0.03), end systolic volume index ( ρ 0.44, p 0.027), mass index ( ρ 0.47, p 0.016), systolic pressure ( ρ 0.55, p