The Relationship between Galectin-3 and Different Patterns of Ventricular Geometry Remodelling in Aortic Valve Stenosis.

Background: This study was conducted to assess expression of Galectin-3 (Gal-3) in patients with different types of left ventricle (LV) hypertrophy geometry, and the relationship between Gal-3 expression and LV remodelling in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS).

Methods: Galectin-3 expression was measured in the plasma and myocardia of AS patients who underwent an aortic valve replacement procedure.

Results: The study enrolled 77 consecutive patients with severe AS. Fifty-five (71.43%) of the enrolled patients had concentric hypertrophy (CH group), and had the highest degree of fibrosis (27.10±5.25%; p<0.001) and expression of Gal-3 in both plasma (19.11±2.06 ng/mL) and myocardial tissue (3.01±0.79). There was a strong positive correlation between the levels of fibrosis and Gal-3 expression in both plasma (r=0.584, p<0.001) and myocardium (r=0.522, p<0.001). Relative wall thickness (RWT) was strongly correlated with Gal-3 expression in both myocardium (r=0.594, p<0.001) and plasma (r=0.323, p=0.005). Additionally, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels were positively correlated with both fibrosis (r=0.313, p=0.036) and LV mass index (r=0.559, p<0.001).

Conclusions: Concentric hypertrophy geometry was the most common type of myocardium remodelling, and AS patients with CH geometry showed the highest levels of Gal-3 expression. Galectin-3 levels were positively correlated with fibrosis and RWT, both of which are crucial indicators of geometric remodelling. Galectin-3 and NT-proBNP levels may be valuable prognostic predictors in AS patients with myocardial remodelling.