Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with hyperinflammation leading to organ injury, including respiratory failure. Galectin-3 was implicated in innate immunological response to infections and in chronic fibrosis. The aim of our preliminary study was the assessment of the diagnostic utility of serum galectin-3 in patients with COVID-19. The prospective observational study included adult patients admitted with active COVID-19 and treated in tertiary hospital between June and July 2020. The diagnosis was confirmed by the quantitative detection of nucleic acid of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in nasopharyngeal swabs. Galectin-3 was measured by enzyme immunoassay in serum samples obtained during the first five days of hospital stay. We included 70 patients aged 25 to 73 years; 90% had at least one comorbidity. During the hospital stay, 32.9% were diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia and 12.9% required treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). Serum galectin-3 was significantly increased in patients who developed pneumonia, particularly those who required ICU admission. Positive correlations were found between galectin-3 and inflammatory markers (interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, ferritin, pentraxin-3), a marker of endothelial injury (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1), and a range of tissue injury markers. Serum galectin-3 enabled the diagnosis of pneumonia with moderate diagnostic accuracy and the need for ICU treatment with high diagnostic accuracy. Our findings strengthen the hypothesis that galectin-3 may be involved in severe COVID-19. Further studies are planned to confirm the preliminary results and to verify possible associations of galectin-3 with long-term consequences of COVID-19, including pulmonary fibrosis.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Inflammation, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1, galectin-3, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, coronavirus disease, Coronavirus disease 2019, coronavirus, COVID-19 pneumonia, Respiratory failure, intensive care, severe COVID-19, Pneumonia, prospective observational study, hospital, pulmonary fibrosis, Infection, intensive care unit, diagnostic, inflammatory markers, interleukin-6, Diagnosis, Comorbidity, fibrosis, C-reactive protein, ferritin, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, observational study, ICU, immunoassay, nucleic acid, serum, Diagnostic accuracy, interleukin, Accuracy, nasopharyngeal swabs, hyperinflammation, Patient, ICU admission, galectin-3, Inflammatory marker, enzyme immunoassay, endothelial injury, respiratory, correlation, utility, Quantitative, moderate, Immunological response, association, marker, Hypothesis, Hospital stay, tissue injury, tyrosine, acute respiratory syndrome, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, serum samples, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, severe coronavirus disease, enzyme, Adult patients, ICU treatment, organ injury, positive correlations, serum sample, FIVE, consequence, significantly increased, was measured, involved, required, treated, implicated, diagnosed with COVID-19, patients with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 Significance,