title: Increased Expressions of Plasma Galectin-3 in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  High expressions of galectin-3 were identified recently in the end stage of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, which suggested that immune reactivity and inflammatory mechanisms might play an important role in the pathogenesis of ALS. The purpose of this study was to investigate plasma galectin-3 levels in different groups and stages of ALS patients and the association with related clinical characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 51 patients with ALS and 60 normal controls (NCs) were recruited in this study. Plasma galectin-3 levels were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients with ALS were divided into several groups according to their clinical characteristics: gender, type of disease onset, duration of disease, and clinical conditions of disease. Statistical analyses of the differences of galectin-3 levels between groups and the association with the clinical characteristics of disease were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As compared with the NCs (201.64 [22.35-401.63] ng/ml), plasma galectin-3 levels were significantly elevated in the patients with duration >12 months (341.17 [69.12-859.22] ng/ml, P< 0.05), and the patients with limb onset of disease (254.14 [69.12-859.22] ng/ml, P< 0.05); however, no difference was found in the patients with duration ≤12 months (250.62 [109.77-334.92] ng/ml, P > 0.05), and the patients with bulbar onset of disease (251.79 [109.20-404.76] ng/ml, P > 0.05). In addition, galectin-3 levels were significantly increased in the female patients (263.27 [123.32-859.22] ng/ml, P< 0.05) while no difference was found in the male patients (220.39 [69.12-748.73] ng/ml, P > 0.05). The further statistical analyses showed that plasma galectin-3 levels were positively correlated with the duration of disease (r = 0.293, P = 0.037).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasma galectin-3 levels were significantly increased in ALS patients with limb onset of disease, especially in ALS female patients, and positively correlated with the duration of disease, which suggested that plasma galectin-3 might be an interesting and useful factor associated with ALS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University; Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Guo
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
authors.forename: Lei-Hua
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Zuo-Han
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D037502:Galectin 3