Increased Levels of Galectin-3 in Critical COVID-19
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Published:2023-10-31
Issue:21
Volume:24
Page:15833
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ISSN:1422-0067
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Container-title:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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language:en
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Short-container-title:IJMS
Author:
Nikitopoulou Ioanna1, Vassiliou Alice G.1ORCID, Athanasiou Nikolaos1ORCID, Jahaj Edison1ORCID, Akinosoglou Karolina2ORCID, Dimopoulou Ioanna1ORCID, Orfanos Stylianos E.1, Dimakopoulou Vasiliki2, Schinas Georgios2ORCID, Tzouvelekis Argyrios3, Aidinis Vassilis4ORCID, Kotanidou Anastasia1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. 1st Department of Critical Care Medicine & Pulmonary Services, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, 10676 Athens, Greece 2. Division of Internal Medicine, University General Hospital of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece 3. Department of Respiratory Medicine, University General Hospital of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece 4. Institute of Fundamental Biomedical Research, Biomedical Sciences Research Center Alexander Fleming, 16672 Athens, Greece
Abstract
Severe COVID-19 is related to hyperinflammation and multiple organ injury, including respiratory failure, thus requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Galectin-3, a carbohydrate-binding protein exhibiting pleiotropic effects, has been previously recognized to participate in inflammation, the immune response to infections and fibrosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between galectin-3 and the clinical severity of COVID-19, as well as assess the prognostic accuracy of galectin-3 for the probability of ICU mortality. The study included 235 COVID-19 patients with active disease, treated in two different Greek hospitals in total. Our results showed that median galectin-3 serum levels on admission were significantly increased in critical COVID-19 patients (7.2 ng/mL), as compared to the median levels of patients with less severe disease (2.9 ng/mL, p = 0.003). Galectin-3 levels of the non-survivors hospitalized in the ICU were significantly higher than those of the survivors (median 9.1 ng/mL versus 5.8 ng/mL, p = 0.001). The prognostic accuracy of galectin-3 for the probability of ICU mortality was studied with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and a multivariate analysis further demonstrated that galectin-3 concentration at hospital admission could be assumed as an independent risk factor associated with ICU mortality. Our results were validated with galectin-3 measurements in a second patient cohort from a different Greek university hospital. Our results, apart from strongly confirming and advancing previous knowledge with two patient cohorts, explore the possibility of predicting ICU mortality, which could provide useful information to clinicians. Therefore, galectin-3 seems to establish its involvement in the prognosis of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, suggesting that it could serve as a promising biomarker in critical COVID-19.
Subject
Inorganic Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Science Applications,Spectroscopy,Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Catalysis
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