Galectin-1 as the new player in staging and prognosis of COVID-19.

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-1ß, 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-1ß, 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-1ß, 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.

Assessment of Galectin-1, Galectin-3, and Prostaglandin E2 Levels in Patients with COVID-19.

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.