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Down-regulation and Clinical Implication of Galectin-9 Levels in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Chronic Kidney Disease

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Summary

In various autoimmune diseases, Galecin-9 (Gal-9) has been shown to regulate the T-cell balance by decreasing Th1 and Th17, while increasing the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs). However, the role of Gal-9 in the patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. This study aims to measure the Gal-9 levels in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with ACS plus CKD and examine their clinical implication. The serum levels of Gal-9 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the expression levels of Gal-9, Tim-3, and Foxp3 mRNA in PBMCs were detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the expression of Gal-9 on the surface of PBMCs and in PBMCs was analyzed by flow cytometry. Furthermore, the correlation of serum Gal-9 levels with anthropometric and biochemical variables in patients with ACS plus CKD was analyzed. The lowest levels of Gal-9 in serum and PBMCs were found in the only ACS group, followed by the ACS+CKD group, and the normal coronary artery (NCA) group, respectively. Serum Gal-9 levels were increased along with the progression of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) categories of G1 to G4. Additionally, serum Gal-9 levels were negatively correlated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), estimated GFR (eGFR), and lipoprotein(a), but positively with creatinine, age, osmotic pressure, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Notably, serum Gal-9 was independently associated with hs-CRP, osmotic pressure, and lipoprotein(a). Furthermore, serum Gal-9 levels were elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in ACS group. It was suggested that the levels of Gal-9 in serum and PBMCs were decreased in patients with simple ACS and those with ACS plus CKD, and hs-CRP, eGFR, osmotic pressure and T2DM may have an influence on serum Gal-9 levels.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contribute equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Jian-hua Xie, Rui-rui Zhu, Yu-cheng Zhong & Qiu-tang Zeng

  2. Department of Gastroenterology, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Li Zhao

Authors
  1. Jian-hua Xie
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  2. Rui-rui Zhu
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  3. Li Zhao
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  4. Yu-cheng Zhong
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  5. Qiu-tang Zeng
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yu-cheng Zhong or Qiu-tang Zeng.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Additional information

This project was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81270354) and Natural Science for Youth Foundation (No. 81300213).

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Xie, Jh., Zhu, Rr., Zhao, L. et al. Down-regulation and Clinical Implication of Galectin-9 Levels in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Chronic Kidney Disease. CURR MED SCI 40, 662–670 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2238-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2238-5

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