Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Aug;12(2):126-132.
doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1716608. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

Evaluation of Galectin-3 as a Novel Diagnostic Biomarker in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Jyothirmayi Kanukurti  1 , Noorjahan Mohammed  1 , N N Sreedevi  1 , Siraj Ahmed Khan  1 , K S S Sai Baba  1 , M Vijaya Bhaskar  1 , O Sai Satish  2 , Shaik Mohammad Naushad  3 , Iyyapu Krishna Mohan  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of Galectin-3 as a Novel Diagnostic Biomarker in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Jyothirmayi Kanukurti et al. J Lab Physicians. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Background Heart failure is a complex cardiovascular disease with a variety of etiologies and heterogeneity. The N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) value has limited usefulness in diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Aim The aim of the present study is to evaluate serum Galectin-3 as a diagnostic biomarker in patients with HFpEF and to compare Galectin-3 with NT-proBNP levels. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional case-control study including 63 cases of heart failure with ejection fraction ≥50% confirmed by echocardiography. NT-proBNP levels in serum were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and Galectin-3 levels in serum were measured by using an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay kit. Results The median levels of serum Galectin-3 and NT-proBNP in patients were significantly higher than those of controls (26.59 vs. 5.27 and 927 vs. 49.3, p < 0.0001). A positive correlation was observed between serum levels of Galection-3 and NT-ProBNP ( r : 0.21, p = 0.048). At cut-off values of 10.1 ng/mL and 160 pg/mL, serum Galectin-3 has 77.78% sensitivity, 95% specificity with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.93, and serum NT-proBNP has 71.43% sensitivity, 100% specificity with an AUC of 0.87, respectively, for diagnosing HFpEF. The comparison of receiver operating characteristics curves showed that Galectin-3 has better AUC compared with NT-proBNP in diagnosing HFpEF. Serum Galectin-3 showed a positive correlation with NT-proBNP and lipid parameters. Conclusion Galectin-3 with higher sensitivity and AUC can be used as a valuable biomarker for the diagnosis of HFpEF. Simultaneous testing of both Galectin-3 and NT-proBNP can further improve the detection of patients with HFpEF.

Keywords: Galectin-3; Heart failure; NT-proBNP; preserved ejection fraction; sensitivity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical StandardsConflict of Interest The study was approved by the hospital’s institutional ethical committee (EC/NIMS/1940/2017). The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ROC curve of serum Galectin-3 . At a cut-off of 10.1 ng/mL, serum Galectin-3 has 77.78% sensitivity and 95% specificity in diagnosing HFpEF. HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; ROC, receiver operating characteristics.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
ROC curve of serum NT-proBNP . At a cut-off of 160 pg/mL, serum NT-proBNP has 71.43% sensitivity and 100% specificity in diagnosing HFpEF. HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide; ROC, receiver operating characteristics.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Combining ROC curves of Galectin-3 and NT-proBNP . Combined ROC curves showed that Galectin-3 has higher AUC compared with NT-proBNP in HFpEF cases. AUC, area under the curve; HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide; ROC, receiver operating characteristics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ambrosy A P, Fonarow G C, Butler J et al.The global health and economic burden of hospitalizations for heart failure: lessons learned from hospitalized heart failure registries. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;63(12):1123–1133. - PubMed
    1. De Boer R A, Pinto Y M, Van Veldhuisen D J. The imbalance between oxygen demand and supply as a potential mechanism in the pathophysiology of heart failure: the role of microvascular growth and abnormalities. Microcirculation. 2003;10(02):113–126. - PubMed
    1. Chow S L, Maisel A S, Anand I et al.The role of biomarkers for the prevention, assessment, and management of heart failure. a consensus statement for healthcare professions from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2017;135:e1054–e1091. - PubMed
    1. van Kimmenade R R, Januzzi J L., Jr Emerging biomarkers in heart failure. Clin Chem. 2012;58(01):127–138. - PubMed
    1. Ibrahim N, Januzzi J L. The potential role of natriuretic peptides and other biomarkers in heart failure diagnosis, prognosis and management. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2015;13(09):1017–1030. - PubMed