Expression of Galectin-9 and correlation with disease activity and vascular endothelial growth factor in rheumatoid arthritis.
Yunqing Wang, Lijun Song, Jiao Sun, Yameng Sui, Dong Li, Guosheng Li, Jianwei Liu, Qiang Shu
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Despite the important role of Galectin-9 (Gal-9) in inflammation and angiogenesis, only a few studies on Galectin-9 expression have been performed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The present study aimed to identify the concentration of Galectin-9 in plasma, its expression in peripheral blood T cell subsets in RA patients, and the association between Galectin-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in RA. METHODS: One hundred and five active RA patients and 52 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in the study. Gal-9, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α level in plasma were determined by ELISA. The intracellular positive expression rates and medium fluorescence intensity (MFI) of Gal-9 and VEGF in T cell subsets, were examined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Plasma Gal-9, TNF-α, and VEGF levels were higher in the RA group than in the HCs group. The plasma Gal-9 level positively correlated with Gal-9 expression in the total lymphocyte and CD3+ T cell, CRP, SDAI, and CDAI of RA patients. The Gal-9 expressions in the cytoplasm of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, Treg, and DNT cells positively correlated with plasma TNF-α levels in RA patients. The Gal-9 expressions in CD4+ T and CD8+ T subsets also positively correlated with plasma VEGF levels. The plasma VEGF levels and VEGF expressions in CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and Treg subsets positively correlated with SDAI and CRP in RA patients. CONCLUSIONS: Gal-9 can be a potential biomarker for RA disease activity. Gal-9 is probably associated with angiogenesis processing in RA.