Circulating galectin-3 levels are inversely associated with subclinical cardiovascular disease in obese adults

作者：Zhang, Jinhua; Teng, Fei; Yuan, Youwen; Li, Kangli; Zhang, Peizhen; Wei, Xueyun; Liu, Deying; Zhang, Huijie^*

来源：HEART AND VESSELS, 2023, 38(5): 671-679.

DOI：10.1007/s00380-022-02222-9

• Galectin-3
• Obesity
• Carotid intima-media thickness
• CVD

Background Galectin-3 is a new cytokine that is mainly secreted by activated macrophages. It is involved in apoptosis, inflammation and may play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, there is little information about the association between circulating galectin-3 and subclinical atherosclerosis in humans. @@@ Methods and results We measured serum galectin-3 in 483 obese adult subjects (aged 40 years and over) who had the measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) recruited from the community. Adults with lower levels of circulating galectin-3 had increased CIMT (p < 0.05). In multivariable linear regression analyses, circulating galectin-3 was independently associated with CIMT. The risks of increased CIMT were significantly decreased by 65.1% (OR (95% CI): 0.349 (0.165-0.739)), adjusting for possible confounding factors. Notably, individuals in the lowest quartile of serum galectin-3 were 1.80 times (p < 0.05) more likely to have increased CIMT than those in the highest quartile in multivariable logistic regression analyses; however, such associations with circulating galectin-3 were not noted for carotid plague. @@@ Conclusions These findings propose that circulating galectin-3 concentrations are inversely associated with increased CIMT in obese adults, which may be a potential biomarker of CVD.

• 单位
  厦门大学; 1; 南方医科大学