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Sci Rep
. 2022 Jan 24;12(1):1272.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-04602-z.
Galectin-1 as the new player in staging and prognosis of COVID-19
Sofija Sekulic Markovic 1 , Nevena Gajovic 2 , Milena Jurisevic 3 , Marina Jovanovic 4 , Biljana Popovska Jovicic 1 , Nebojsa Arsenijevic 2 5 , Zeljko Mijailovic 1 , Marina Jovanovic 6 , Zana Dolicanin 7 , Ivan Jovanovic 2
Affiliations
- PMID: 35075140
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04602-z
Abstract
A new virus from the group of coronaviruses was identified as the cause of atypical pneumonia and called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and disease called Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). During the cytokine storm, the main cause of the death, proinflammatory cytokines are released which stimulate further tissue destruction. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in many immune and inflammatory processes and its role in COVID-19 is still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine systemic values of Gal-1 and correlations between Gal-1 and proinflammatory cytokines and clinical parameters during COVID-19 progression. This is observational and cross-sectional study. 210 COVID-19 patients were included and divided into mild, severe or critical group according to COVID-19 severity. Serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-23, IL-33 and Gal-1 were measured using sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Systemic levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-23, IL-33 and Gal-1 were significantly higher in stage III of COVID-19 patients compared to stage I and II. There were no significant differences in the ratio between Gal-1 and IL-10 with proinflammatory cytokines. Positive correlation was detected between Gal-1 and IL-1β, IL6, IL-10, IL-23 and IL-33. Gal-1 positively correlated with chest radiographic finding, dry cough and headache and negatively correlated with normal breathing sound. Linear regression model and ROC curve analysis point on Gal-1 as significant predictor for COVID-19 severity. Presented results implicate on Gal-1 and IL-10 dependent immunomodulation. The precise mechanism of Gal-1 effect in COVID-19 and its potential as a stage marker of disease severity is still to be clarified.