Observational studyArthritis research & therapy2017
Increased galectin-3 may serve as a serologic signature of pre-rheumatoid arthritis while markers of synovitis and cartilage do not differ between early undifferentiated arthritis subsets.
Observational study in Arthritis research & therapy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- SOX9 represses the human galectin-3 promoter in SW1353 cells: potential implications for osteoarthritis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- New Cardiovascular Risk Biomarkers in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications and Clinical Utility-A Narrative Review.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Circulating levels of galectin-3 and coronary microvascular perfusion in rheumatoid arthritis patients with suppressed inflammation.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Article
- Review
- Effects of glucocorticoids on the levels of serum tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 6 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.American journal of translational research · 2021Article
- Galectin-3 as a Next-Generation Biomarker for Detecting Early Stage of Various Diseases.Biomolecules · 2020Review
- Association of galectin-3 with markers of myocardial function, atherosclerosis, and vascular fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Clinical cardiology · 2019Article
- Galectin-3: One Molecule for an Alphabet of Diseases, from A to Z.International journal of molecular sciences · 2018Review
- Clinical Relevance of Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: Differential Regulation and Correlation With Disease Activity.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUndifferentiated arthritis (UA) is a label applied to patients with joint complaints which cannot be classified according to current criteria, which implies a need for precision diagnostic technologies. We studied serum galectin-3, a proinflammatory mediator, and seromarkers of structural joint elements in patients with early, UA and their associations with disease profile and biochemical and imaging findings.
methodsOne hundred and eleven UA patients were followed-up for at least 12 months and reclassified according to appropriate criteria (TUDAR). At baseline, demographics and laboratory and clinical disease measures, as well as wrist magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) synovitis, erosion, and bone marrow edema scorings, were recorded. Galectin-3, the type IIA collagen N-terminal propeptide (PIIANP), which is a marker of regenerative cartilage formation, and hyaluronan (HYA), which is prevalent in synovial tissue swellings, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was carried out to assess the discriminant capacity of galectin-3 against arthritis subsets.
resultsGalectin-3 was increased in pre-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (4.6 μg/l, interquartile range (IQR) 3.8-5.5) versus non-RA (4.0 μg/l, IQR 3.1-4.9; p = 0.03) and controls (3.8 μg/l, IQR 3.0-4.8; p = 0.009). PIIANP was equally depressed in either subset (p < 0.01). Galectin-3 in non-RA and HYA in UA did not differ from healthy controls. In the entire UA cohort, galectin-3 correlated with the MRI bone marrow edema score, while PIIANP correlated with the MRI erosion score, and HYA with the synovitis and erosion scores. ROC curve analysis showed that baseline galectin-3 discriminated well between pre-RA and non-RA with univariate area under the curve (AUC) of 0.64 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53-0.76) while AUC for galectin-3 + anti-CCP increased to 0.71 (95% CI 0.59-0.83).
conclusionsGalectin-3 in serum was increased in patients with early UA of pre-RA origin. Cartilage remodeling assessed by PIIANP was diminished in UA irrespective of subsequent clinical differentiation, while HYA did not differ from controls. ROC analysis showed a potential for galectin-3 to discriminate between pre-RA and non-RA.
trial registrationKF 11 315829. Registered 25 July 2006.
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