Serum levels of galectin-1, galectin-3, and galectin-9 are associated with large artery atherosclerotic stroke

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the expression patterns of serum galectin-1 (Gal-1), galectin-3 (Gal-3), galectin-9 (Gal-9), and galectin-3 binding protein (Gal-3BP) and their associations with stroke outcome in large artery atherosclerotic (LAA) stroke. The serum levels of Gal-1, Gal-3, Gal-9, and Gal-3BP were measured by ELISA in 130 patients with LAA stroke and 130 age- and sex-matched controls. Serum samples were collected from the patients on day 1, day 6, and in the 4th week after ischaemic stroke (IS). An unfavourable outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of >2 on day 90 after IS. Our results indicated that the Gal-3 and Gal-9 levels were higher in patients with LAA stroke than in controls. A higher Gal-3 level was independently associated with an unfavourable outcome both on day 1 and day 6 after IS. In addition, Gal-9 and Gal-1 levels were upregulated on day 6 and in the 4th week after IS, respectively. For Gal-3BP, no difference was detected between patients and controls and no predictive value was found in patients. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the serum levels of Gal-1, Gal-3, and Gal-9 may be associated with LAA stroke.

Figure 1. Comparison of the serum levels of galectin-1, -3, -9, and -3BP in the patients and controls.

In the box-and-whisker plots, the lower and upper ends of the box represent the 25th and 75th percentiles, respectively; the horizontal line inside the box represents the median value; and the peripheral lines extending to the outer fences represent the 10th and 90th percentiles. Differences between the two groups were compared using Student’s t-test (a,b,d) or the Mann-Whitney U test (c). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. Abbreviations: galectin-3BP, galectin-3 binding protein.

Figure 2. Serum levels of galectin-9 and galectin-1 in patients at different time points after ischaemic stroke.

(a and c) comparisons of galectin-9 and galectin-1 levels between day 1 and day 6 after stroke in 109 patients. The differences were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (a) or a matched t-test (c). *p < 0.05. (b and d), comparison of galectin-9 and galectin-1 levels between day 1, day 6, and 4 weeks after stroke in 39 patients. The differences between the three time points were compared using the Friedman M test with post hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (b) and repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc matched t-tests (d). ^#p < 0.0125 was considered statistically significant after the Bonferroni correction.

Figure 3. Study flow chart Abbreviations.

LAA stroke, large artery atherosclerotic stroke; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; mRS, modified Rankin Scale.