Serum Galectin-3 Levels Correlate with Reduced Vascular Reactivity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Enrolled Patients and Anthropometric Measurements
2.2. Biochemical Testing from Blood Sampling
2.3. Estimation of the Endothelial Function
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| BMI | Body mass index |
| BUN | Blood urea nitrogen |
| CAD | Coronary artery disease |
| DBP | Diastolic blood pressure |
| DM | Diabetes mellitus |
| DTM | Digital thermal monitoring |
| eGFR | Estimate glomerular filtration rate |
| LDL-C | Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol |
| ROC | Receiver operating characteristic curve |
| SBP | Systolic blood pressure |
| TCH | Total cholesterol |
| TG | Triglyceride |
| VRI | Vascular reactivity index |
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| Characteristics | All Participants (n = 118) | Good Vascular Reactivity (n = 50) | Intermediate Vascular Reactivity (n = 56) | Poor Vascular Reactivity (n = 12) | p Value for Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 63.12 ± 8.96 | 61.35 ± 8.38 | 63.46 ± 9.33 | 68.90 ± 7.35 | 0.028 * |
| Height (cm) | 167.00 (160.38–169.25) | 166.50 (159.75–169.25) | 167.00 (161.25–169.75) | 165.50 (157.00–169.50) | 0.489 |
| Body weight (kg) | 71.97 ± 11.99 | 70.81 ± 11.00 | 73.41 ± 13.07 | 70.12 ± 10.76 | 0.462 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.42 ± 3.76 | 26.19 ± 3.65 | 26.68 ± 3.98 | 26.19 ± 3.31 | 0.787 |
| Vascular reactivity index | 1.87 ± 0.65 | 2.45 ± 0.31 | 1.65 ± 0.22 | 0.51 ± 0.25 | <0.001 * |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 131.51 ± 18.24 | 133.84 ± 17.56 | 129.11 ± 17.52 | 133.00 ± 23.94 | 0.396 |
| Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 76.64 ± 13.20 | 77.90 ± 15.32 | 76.11 ± 11.38 | 73.83 ± 11.94 | 0.584 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 162.66 ± 33.90 | 156.89 ± 29.93 | 162.07 ± 29.18 | 191.77 ± 51.39 | 0.003 * |
| Triglyceride (mg/dL) | 126.50 (95.00–181.50) | 116.50 (94.75–193.50) | 126.50 (91.75–167.25) | 157.50 (109.25–207.50) | 0.541 |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | 46.47 ± 10.88 | 48.06 ± 11.81 | 45.32 ± 10.53 | 45.25 ± 8.04 | 0.401 |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | 93.52 ± 29.60 | 92.52 ± 26.18 | 88.98 ± 26.24 | 118.83 ± 44.92 | 0.005 * |
| Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | 107.00 (91.00–136.75) | 109.00 (94.75–141.25) | 106.00 (90.25–134.75) | 106.00 (91.50–137.75) | 0.669 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 4.38 ± 0.24 | 4.41 ± 0.27 | 4.37 ± 0.19 | 4.26 ± 0.27 | 0.133 |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dL) | 17.00 (14.00–20.00) | 16.00 (14.75–18.25) | 17.00 (14.00–21.00) | 17.00 (13.25–24.25) | 0.742 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.00 (0.80–1.10) | 1.00 (0.80–1.10) | 1.00 (0.80–1.10) | 1.00 (0.90–1.35) | 0.560 |
| eGFR (mL/min) | 82.83 ± 24.13 | 84.33 ± 25.95 | 83.32 ± 22.80 | 74.30 ± 22.46 | 0.428 |
| Galectin-3 (ng/mL) | 12.81 ± 5.09 | 11.24 ± 3.81 | 12.38 ± 4.20 | 21.35 ± 5.56 | <0.001 * |
| Male, n (%) | 100 (85.5) | 41 (82.0) | 48 (87.5) | 11 (91.7) | 0.607 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 54 (45.8) | 25 (50.0) | 24 (42.9) | 5 (41.7) | 0.729 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 62 (52.5) | 28 (56.0) | 30 (53.6) | 4 (33.3) | 0.361 |
| ACE inhibitor use, n (%) | 23 (19.5) | 11 (22.0) | 11 (19.0) | 1 (8.3) | 0.562 |
| ARB use, n (%) | 51 (43.2) | 24 (48.0) | 23 (41.1) | 4 (33.3) | 0.592 |
| β-blocker use, n (%) | 60 (50.8) | 22 (44.0) | 31 (55.4) | 7 (58.3) | 0.435 |
| CCB use, n (%) | 47 (39.8) | 22 (44.0) | 19 (33.9) | 6 (50.0) | 0.429 |
| Statin use, n (%) | 99 (83.9) | 40 (80.0) | 49 (87.5) | 10 (83.3) | 0.576 |
| Fibrate use, n (%) | 9 (7.6) | 4 (8.0) | 4 (7.1) | 1 (8.3) | 0.982 |
| Variables | Vascular Reactivity Index | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Regression | Multivariable Regression | ||||
| r | p Value | Beta | Adjusted R2 Change | p Value | |
| Age (years) | −0.232 | 0.011 * | – | – | – |
| Log-Height (cm) | −0.035 | 0.705 | – | – | – |
| Body weight (kg) | −0.081 | 0.386 | – | – | – |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | −0.064 | 0.494 | – | – | – |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 0.090 | 0.331 | – | – | – |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 0.153 | 0.099 | – | – | – |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | −0.233 | 0.011 * | – | – | – |
| Log-Triglyceride (mg/dL) | −0.033 | 0.720 | – | – | – |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | 0.106 | 0.255 | – | – | – |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | −0.226 | 0.014 * | – | – | – |
| Log-Glucose (mg/dL) | 0.153 | 0.097 | – | – | – |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 0.151 | 0.104 | – | – | – |
| Log-BUN (mg/dL) | −0.054 | 0.559 | – | – | – |
| Log-Creatinine (mg/dL) | −0.126 | 0.175 | – | – | – |
| eGFR (mL/min) | 0.117 | 0.209 | – | – | – |
| Galectin-3 (ng/mL) | −0.488 | <0.001 * | −0.488 | 0.231 | <0.001 * |
| Variables | Spearman Coefficient of Correlation | p Value |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 0.480 | <0.001 * |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | −0.169 | 0.067 |
| Vascular reactivity index | −0.488 | <0.001 * |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 0.054 | 0.563 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | −0.075 | 0.422 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 0.198 | 0.032 * |
| Log-Triglyceride (mg/dL) | −0.044 | 0.635 |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | −0.061 | 0.509 |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | 0.187 | 0.043 * |
| Log-Glucose (mg/dL) | −0.005 | 0.956 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | −0.266 | 0.004 * |
| eGFR (mL/min) | −0.334 | <0.001* |
| Model | Galectin-3 (Per 1 ng/mL of Increase) for Vascular Reactivity Dysfunction | Galectin-3 (Per 1 ng/mL of Increase) for Poor Vascular Reactivity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR (95% CI) | p Value | OR (95% CI) | p Value | |
| Crude model | 1.131 (1.037–1.234) | 0.006 * | 1.483 (1.231–1.787) | <0.001 * |
| Model 1 | 1.120 (1.016–1.235) | 0.023 * | 1.445 (1.179–1.772) | <0.001 * |
| Vascular ReactivityDysfunction | |||||||
| AUC (95% CI) | p Value | Cut-Off | Sen (%) | Spe (%) | PPV (%) | NPV (%) | |
| Galectin-3 (ng/mL) | 0.648 (0.547–0.748) | 0.004 * | 10.62 | 75.0 | 54.0 | 68.9 | 61.4 |
| Poor Vascular Reactivity | |||||||
| AUC (95% CI) | p Value | Cut-Off | Sen (%) | Spe (%) | PPV (%) | NPV (%) | |
| Galectin-3 (ng/mL) | 0.913 (0.816–1.000) | p < 0.001 * | 15.73 | 91.7 | 85.9 | 42.3 | 98.9 |
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Huang, P.-Y.; Hsieh, M.-H.; Wang, J.-H.; Tsai, J.-P.; Hsu, B.-G. Serum Galectin-3 Levels Correlate with Reduced Vascular Reactivity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Medicina 2026, 62, 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62061018
Huang P-Y, Hsieh M-H, Wang J-H, Tsai J-P, Hsu B-G. Serum Galectin-3 Levels Correlate with Reduced Vascular Reactivity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Medicina. 2026; 62(6):1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62061018
Chicago/Turabian StyleHuang, Po-Yu, Min-Han Hsieh, Ji-Hung Wang, Jen-Pi Tsai, and Bang-Gee Hsu. 2026. "Serum Galectin-3 Levels Correlate with Reduced Vascular Reactivity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease" Medicina 62, no. 6: 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62061018
APA StyleHuang, P.-Y., Hsieh, M.-H., Wang, J.-H., Tsai, J.-P., & Hsu, B.-G. (2026). Serum Galectin-3 Levels Correlate with Reduced Vascular Reactivity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Medicina, 62(6), 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62061018

