Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 15, 2025
Author Spotlight: Real-Time Monitoring of Parasite Burden and Host Response
Published on: May 31, 2024
Galectin-3 Associated with Severe Forms and Long-term Mortality in Patients with Chagas Disease
Fábio Fernandes1, Carlos Henrique Valente Moreira2, Lea Campos Oliveira3
1Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das Clínicas Instituto do Coração, São Paulo, SP- Brasil.
Insights
Elevated Galectin-3 (Gal-3) levels in Chagas disease (ChD) patients correlate with severe Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC) and predict long-term mortality, aiding in high-risk patient identification.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Biomarker Research
Background:
- Chagas disease (ChD) histopathology includes myocarditis, heart fiber destruction, and fibrosis.
- Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is implicated in fibrosis and inflammation, potentially serving as a ChD risk stratification biomarker.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if high Galectin-3 (Gal-3) levels are linked to severe Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC).
- To determine if Gal-3 levels predict mortality in Chagas disease patients.
Main Methods:
- Studied anti-T. cruzi positive blood donors (BD) categorized by CC status and controls.
- Utilized Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman's correlation for association analysis.
- Included 97 patients with severe CC (CC-Dys) and analyzed Gal-3 levels against clinical outcomes.
Main Results:
- Higher Gal-3 levels were observed in severe CC patients (15.4 ng/mL) compared to non-CC (12.3 ng/mL) and controls (13.8 ng/mL).
- Elevated Gal-3 levels (≥15.3 ng/mL) significantly predicted death or heart transplantation within 5 years in CC-Dys patients (HR 3.11, p=0.019).
- Gal-3 levels correlated with echocardiogram parameters in T. cruzi-seropositive individuals.
Conclusions:
- Higher Galectin-3 levels are significantly associated with severe Chagas disease forms.
- Elevated Gal-3 levels indicate increased long-term mortality risk in Chagas disease patients.
- Galectin-3 shows potential as a biomarker for identifying high-risk individuals with Chagas disease.
Background:
The histopathological characteristics of Chagas disease (ChD) are: presence of myocarditis, destruction of heart fibers, and myocardial fibrosis. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a biomarker involved in the mechanism of fibrosis and inflammation that may be useful for risk stratification of individuals with ChD.
Objectives:
We sought to evaluate whether high Gal-3 levels are associated with severe forms of Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC) and whether they are predictive of mortality.
Methods:
We studied anti-T. cruzi positive blood donors (BD): Non-CC-BD (187 BD without CC with normal electrocardiogram [ECG] and left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]); CC-Non-Dys-BD (46 BD with CC with abnormal ECG but normal LVEF); and 153 matched serum-negative controls. This cohort was composed of 97 patients with severe CC (CC-Dys). We used Kruskall-Wallis and Spearman's correlation to test hypothesis of associations, assuming a two-tailed p<0.05 as significant.
Results:
The Gal-3 level was 12.3 ng/mL for Non-CC-BD, 12.0 ng/mL for CC-Non-Dys-BD, 13.8 ng/mL for controls, and 15.4 ng/mL for CC-Dys. LVEF<50 was associated with higher Gal-3 levels (p=0.0001). In our linear regression adjusted model, we found association between Gal-3 levels and echocardiogram parameters in T. cruzi-seropositive subjects. In CC-Dys patients, we found a significant association of higher Gal-3 levels (≥15.3 ng/mL) and subsequent death or heart transplantation in a 5-year follow-up (Hazard ratio - HR 3.11; 95%CI 1.21-8.04; p=0.019).
Conclusions:
In ChD patients, higher Gal-3 levels were significantly associated with severe forms of the disease and more long-term mortality, which means it may be a useful means to identify high-risk patients. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2):248-256).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:29Cardiomyopathy III: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
01:26Heart Failure III: Clinical Manifestations
01:30Coronary Artery Disease III: Clinical Manifestations
01:30Acute Coronary Syndrome III: Diagnostic Studies
01:25Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-III: Symptoms and Complications.
Symptoms of COPD can be classified as primary or systemic. Primary symptoms relate to reduced airflow, while systemic or extrapulmonary symptoms relate to COPD's broader impact on the body.
Primary Symptoms of COPD:
01:23Gastritis III: Clinical Manifestations and Management
Clinical manifestations of acute gastritis
The patient with acute gastritis may have a rapid onset of symptoms, such as epigastric pain or discomfort, dyspepsia, anorexia, hiccups, or nausea and vomiting, which can last from a few hours to a few days. Erosive or hemorrhagic gastritis may cause bleeding, which may manifest as blood in vomit or as...