Local expression of myocardial galectin-3 does not correlate with its serum levels in patients undergoing heart transplantation.

Background: Galectins are a family of soluble lectins expressed in a variety of tissues, which play many important regulatory roles in inflammation, immunity, and cancer. The up-regulation of galectin-3 in hypertrophied hearts and the development of fibrosis have been shown in experimental studies. Increased galectin-3 levels are associated with poor long-term survival in end-stage heart failure (HF).