Soluble galectin-3 is associated with premature myocardial infarction

Inflammatory responses are pivotal in the initiation and development of premature atherosclerotic lesions. Galectin-3 represents a valuable biomarker for both progression and destabilization of atherosclerotic lesions. This study aims to assess the involvement of galectin-3 in premature myocardial infarction.

In this multicentre case-control study, we assessed circulating galectin-3 levels in 144 patients comprising 72 consecutive survivors of acute myocardial infarction (≤ 40 years) and 72 hospital controls frequency matched for age, gender and centre.

Patients with acute myocardial infarction showed significantly higher galectin-3 levels as compared to controls in the acute phase of acute myocardial infarction (2552 ± 1992 vs. 1666 ± 829 pg/mL; P < 0·001) as well as in the stable phase 1 year after the index event (3692 ± 1774 vs. 1666 ± 829 pg/mL; P < 0·001). Circulating galectin-3 was significantly and independently associated with premature myocardial infarction in the logistic regression analysis (acute phase: adj. OR per 1-SD change 2·03, 95% CI 1·30-3·19; P = 0·002; stable phase: adj. OR of 6·54 (95% CI 2·56-16·68; P < 0·001). Moreover, we observed a significant correlation between circulating galectin-3 and leucocyte count (r = 0·35, P < 0·001), non-HDL cholesterol (r = 0·23, P = 0·014) and HDL cholesterol (r = -0·29, P = 0·002).

We demonstrated that elevated levels of circulating galectin-3 are strongly associated with premature myocardial infarction. Galectin-3 might serve as link between dyslipidaemia as driving force of plaque formation with inflammation as initiator of plaque rupture in patients with premature acute myocardial infarction.