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Coronary Progenitor Cells and Soluble Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Prognosis after Coronary Angioplasty
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The biomarker plasma galectin-3 in advanced heart failure and survival with mechanical circulatory support devices

Gülsüm Erkilet1, Cenk Özpeker, Dietmar Böthig

  • 1Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, Clinic of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Erich and Hanna Klessmann-Institute for Cardiovascular Research and Development, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.

The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation : the Official Publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation
|January 29, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Plasma galectin-3 (Gal-3) is elevated in patients with severe heart failure on ventricular assist devices (VADs). However, Gal-3 levels do not predict outcomes or death on device in these patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Biomarker Discovery
  • Heart Failure Management

Background:

  • Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are used in heart failure patients awaiting transplantation.
  • Elevated plasma galectin-3 (Gal-3) was observed pre-operatively in VAD patients who later died on support.
  • This prompted an investigation into Gal-3's predictive value for death on device (DOD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the predictive value of plasma Gal-3 for outcomes in VAD patients.
  • To compare Gal-3's predictive power against other clinical risk factors.
  • To investigate the source of elevated plasma Gal-3 in VAD patients.

Main Methods:

  • Plasma Gal-3 levels and clinical factors were assessed in 175 VAD patients pre-implantation.
  • Uni- and multivariate analyses were used to determine predictor importance.
  • Myocardial Gal-3 gene and protein expression were analyzed via RT-PCR and Western blotting.

Main Results:

  • Plasma Gal-3 was significantly higher in VAD patients compared to controls (16.6 ± 9.3 vs 9.5 ± 3.9 ng/ml, p < 0.0001).
  • Clinical factors and VAD type, but not Gal-3, were independent predictors of outcome in Cox regression.
  • Gal-3 mRNA and protein were found in failing myocardium but did not correlate with plasma levels.

Conclusions:

  • Plasma Gal-3 levels are associated with severe heart failure but lack sufficient discriminatory power for predicting VAD outcomes.
  • The failing myocardium is not confirmed as the primary source of elevated plasma Gal-3.
  • Further research is needed to identify reliable biomarkers for VAD patient prognosis.
Abstract

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