Galectin-3 mediates high-glucose-induced cardiomyocyte injury by the NADPH oxidase/reactive oxygen species pathway

Unraveling the role of galectin-3 in cardiac pathology and physiology

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a carbohydrate-binding protein with multiple functions. Gal-3 regulates cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis by orchestrating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. It is implicated in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease, and its expression is increased in patients with heart failure. In atherosclerosis, Gal-3 promotes monocyte recruitment to the arterial wall boosting inflammation and atheroma. In acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the expression of Gal-3 increases in infarcted and remote zones from the beginning of AMI, and plays a critical role in macrophage infiltration, differentiation to M1 phenotype, inflammation and interstitial fibrosis through collagen synthesis. Genetic deficiency of Gal-3 delays wound healing, impairs cardiac remodeling and function after AMI. On the contrary, Gal-3 deficiency shows opposite results with improved remodeling and function in other cardiomyopathies and in hypertension. Pharmacologic inhibition with non-selective inhibitors is also protective in cardiac disease. Finally, we recently showed that Gal-3 participates in normal aging. However, genetic absence of Gal-3 in aged mice exacerbates pathological hypertrophy and increases fibrosis, as opposed to reduced fibrosis shown in cardiac disease. Despite some gaps in understanding its precise mechanisms of action, Gal-3 represents a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and the management of cardiac aging. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the role of Gal-3 in the pathophysiology of heart failure, atherosclerosis, hypertension, myocarditis, and ischemic heart disease. Furthermore, we describe the physiological role of Gal-3 in cardiac aging.

Melatonin ameliorates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis via activating NRF2 and inhibiting galectin-3 expression

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease with no effective therapies. Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a marker of oxidative stress, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of PF. Fibroblast-myofibroblast differentiation (FMD) is an important source of fibrotic cells in PF. Previous studies showed that melatonin (MT) exerted anti-fibrotic effect in many diseases including PF through its antioxidant activity. In the present study we investigated the relationships among Gal-3, NRF2, ROS in FMD and their regulation by MT. We established an in vitro model of FMD in TGF-β1-treated human fetal lung fibroblast1 (HFL1) cells and a PF mouse model via bleomycin (BLM) intratracheal instillation. We found that Gal-3 expression was significantly increased both in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of Gal-3 in HFL1 cells markedly attenuated TGF-β1-induced FMD process and ROS accumulation. In TGF-β1-treated HFL1 cells, pretreatment with NRF2-specific inhibitor ML385 (5 μM) significantly increased the levels of Gal-3, α-SMA and ROS, suggesting that the expression of Gal-3 was regulated by NRF2. Treatment with NRF2-activator MT (250 μM) blocked α-SMA and ROS accumulation accompanied by reduced Gal-3 expression. In BLM-induced PF model, administration of MT (5 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹, ip for 14 or 28 days) significantly attenuated the progression of lung fibrosis through up-regulating NRF2 and down-regulating Gal-3 expression in lung tissues. These results suggest that Gal-3 regulates TGF-β1-induced pro-fibrogenic responses and ROS production in FMD, and MT activates NRF2 to block FMD process by down-regulating Gal-3 expression. This study provides a useful clue for a clinical strategy to prevent PF.

Inhibition of galectin-3 ameliorates high-glucose-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in ARPE-19 cells

PURPOSE

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) has been found to be participated in the pathogenesis of DR in recent years. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is involved in many diabetic complications and ophthalmological diseases. However, the role of Gal-3 in RPE cells in DR remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the role of Gal-3 in ARPE-19 cells under high glucose treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

ARPE-19 cells were cultured under normal or high glucose (HG) for 48 h. Expression of Gal-3 was inhibited by Si-Gal-3 transfection. Apoptosis was checked by flow cytometry. Oxidative stress was checked by measuring ROS, MDA levels, and SOD activities. Occludin and ZO-1 expression were checked by immunofluorescence staining. Genes involved in inflammatory response were measured by real-time PCR and Western blot.

RESULTS

Gal-3 expression could be increased by HG treatment in ARPE-19 cells. Gal-3 knockdown might reduce oxidative stress, apoptosis, and gene expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and integrin-β1 induced by HG treatment. The gene expression of IL-1β could be markedly promoted by HG treatment and this increasement was partly alleviated by Gal-3 knockdown only at the mRNA level. The reduced expression of ZO-1 and occludin caused by HG could also be improved by Gal-3 knockdown.

CONCLUSION

Gal-3 participated in increased oxidative stress and inflammatory response caused by HG in ARPE-19 cells.

Elevated plasma Galectin-3 is associated with major adverse kidney events and death after ICU admission

Background

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a proinflammatory and profibrotic protein especially overexpressed after Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). The early renal prognostic value of Gal-3 after AKI in critically ill patients remains unexplored. The objective was to evaluate the prognostic value of plasma level of Gal-3 for Major Adverse Kidney Events (MAKE) and mortality 30 days after ICU admission across AKI stages.

Methods

This is an ancillary study of a prospective, observational, multicenter cohort (FROG-ICU). AKI was defined using KDIGO definition.

Results

Two thousand and seventy-six patients had a Gal-3 plasma level measurement at ICU admission. Seven hundred and twenty-three (34.8%) were females and the median age was 63 [51, 74] years. Eight hundred and seven (38.9%) patients developed MAKE, 774 (37.3%) had AKI and mortality rate at 30 days was 22.4% (N = 465). Patients who developed MAKE had higher Gal-3 level at admission compared to patients without (30.2 [20.8, 49.2] ng/ml versus 16.9 [12.7, 24.3] ng/ml, p < 0.001, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of Gal-3 to predict MAKE was 0.76 CI_95% [0.74–0.78], p < 0.001. Gal-3 was associated with MAKE (OR 1.80 CI_95% [1.68–1.93], p < 0.001, non-adjusted and OR 1.37 CI_95% [1.27–1.49], p < 0.001, adjusted). The use of Gal-3 improved prediction performance of prediction model including SAPSII, Screat_adm, pNGAL with a NRI of 0.27 CI_95%(0.16–0.38), p < 0.001. Median Gal-3 was higher in non-survivors than in survivors at 30 days (29.2 [20.2, 49.2] ng/ml versus 18.8 [13.3, 29.2] ng/ml, p < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion

Plasma levels of Gal-3 were strongly associated with renal function, with an increased risk of MAKE and death after ICU admission.

Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01367093. Registered on 6 June 2011.

Graphical abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13054-021-03878-x.

Galectins in Cancer and the Microenvironment: Functional Roles, Therapeutic Developments, and Perspectives

Changes in cell growth and metabolism are affected by the surrounding environmental factors to adapt to the cell’s most appropriate growth model. However, abnormal cell metabolism is correlated with the occurrence of many diseases and is accompanied by changes in galectin (Gal) performance. Gals were found to be some of the master regulators of cell–cell interactions that reconstruct the microenvironment, and disordered expression of Gals is associated with multiple human metabolic-related diseases including cancer development. Cancer cells can interact with surrounding cells through Gals to create more suitable conditions that promote cancer cell aggressiveness. In this review, we organize the current understanding of Gals in a systematic way to dissect Gals’ effect on human disease, including how Gals’ dysregulated expression affects the tumor microenvironment’s metabolism and elucidating the mechanisms involved in Gal-mediated diseases. This information may shed light on a more precise understanding of how Gals regulate cell biology and facilitate the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment by targeting the Gal family.