Assessment of Galectin-1, Galectin-3, and Prostaglandin E2 Levels in Patients with COVID-19
Sümeyye Kazancıoğlu, Fatma Yılmaz, Aliye Baştuğ, Bahadır Orkun Özbay, Ömer Aydos, Çiğdem Yücel, Hürrem Bodur, Gülşen Yılmaz
Abstract
It is important to determine the inflammatory biomarkers in the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with the emergence of the pandemic. Galectins and prostaglandins play important roles in the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate Galectin-1 (Gal-1), Galectin-3 (Gal-3), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels in patients with COVID-19. Serum concentrations of Gal-1, Gal-3, and PGE2 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on 84 patients with COVID-19 (severe = 29 and nonsevere = 55) and 56 healthy controls. In this study, increased levels of Gal-1 (median, 9.86, 6.35, and 3.67 ng/mL), Gal-3 (median, 415.31, 326.33, and 243.13 pg/mL), and PGE2 (median, 193.17, 192.58, and 124.62 pg/mL) levels were found in patients with COVID-19 than in healthy controls (P < 0.001 for all). In the severe disease group, Gal-3 levels were higher, while no differences were noted in Gal-1 and PGE2 levels (P = 0.011, P = 0.263, and P = 0.921, respectively). Serum levels of Gal-1 were positively correlated with those of Gal-3 (P = 0.871 and P < 0.001). Gal-3, C-reactive protein, lymphocyte count, and age were found as independent predictors of disease severity (P = 0.002, P = 0.001, P = 0.007, and P = 0.003, respectively). With the emergence of effective drug needs in the COVID-19 pandemic, differentiation of severe disease is important. Therefore, Gal-3 could be a potential prognostic biomarker of COVID-19.