Galectin 3‐binding protein and clinical outcomes in patients with angiographically significant coronary artery disease

Galectin‐3 binding protein (G3BP) serum levels have been associated with cancer, viral infection and autoimmune disease. We found elevated G3BP levels in monocyte‐derived foam cells (RNA) and plasma‐ but not platelet‐derived microparticles (protein). We hypothesized that G3BP may represent a biomarker of severity and outcome in coronary artery disease (CAD). G3BP serum levels were measured by ELISA in 96 patients undergoing coronary angiography (58 male, age 63.6 ± 11.2 years), 79 of which had significant CAD (≥70% stenosis of epicardial vessels). Clinical follow‐up (up to 5 months) included myocardial infarction (MI), the need for revascularization, congestive heart failure, and death. Statistical analyses comprised Kruskal‐Wallis test, Pearson correlation, and multivariate analyses. The mean G3BP serum level was 10.37±6.5 mg/l. In multivariate testing, low G3BP levels predicted the combined outcome of the need for percutaneous or surgical revascularization in patients taking lipid‐lowering agents (OR 0.38, CI 0.17–0.87, p = 0.022), and this relationship remained strong after adjusting for CRP level (OR 0.46, CI 0.21–1.01, p = 0.052). Similar trends were seen for the combined endpoint of death or MI in patients with hypertension (OR 0.52, CI 0.25–1.10, p = 0.089), diabetes (OR 0.42, CI 0.17–1.06, p = 0.067), and those taking lipid‐lowering agents (OR 0.42, CI 0.15–1.16, p = 0.093). In summary, we propose that G3BP is a promising biomarker that appears to have predictive value in addition to that of CRP in patients with significant CAD. Additional studies analyzing larger numbers of patients will be needed to assess it potential role as a biomarker.