Salzillo, C.; Giovannico, L.; Fischetti, G.; Cazzato, G.; Magistro, M.; Nucci, G.; Serio, G.; Marzullo, A. Preliminary Study on the Immunohistochemical Expression of Galectin-3 in Hypertrophic Hearts. Global Cardiology 2024, 2, doi:10.4081/cardio.2024.37.
Salzillo, C.; Giovannico, L.; Fischetti, G.; Cazzato, G.; Magistro, M.; Nucci, G.; Serio, G.; Marzullo, A. Preliminary Study on the Immunohistochemical Expression of Galectin-3 in Hypertrophic Hearts. Global Cardiology 2024, 2, doi:10.4081/cardio.2024.37.
Salzillo, C.; Giovannico, L.; Fischetti, G.; Cazzato, G.; Magistro, M.; Nucci, G.; Serio, G.; Marzullo, A. Preliminary Study on the Immunohistochemical Expression of Galectin-3 in Hypertrophic Hearts. Global Cardiology 2024, 2, doi:10.4081/cardio.2024.37.
Salzillo, C.; Giovannico, L.; Fischetti, G.; Cazzato, G.; Magistro, M.; Nucci, G.; Serio, G.; Marzullo, A. Preliminary Study on the Immunohistochemical Expression of Galectin-3 in Hypertrophic Hearts. Global Cardiology 2024, 2, doi:10.4081/cardio.2024.37.
Abstract
Background: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) overexpression is associated with fibroblastic proliferation and the production of collagen, resulting in increased cardiac fibrosis and remodelling. Aim of the study was to investigate on the expression of Gal-3 in hypertrophic hearts. We examined 19 surgical specimens taken from interventricular septum of 8 patients with Tetralogy of Fallot, 4 patients with aortic valve stenosis, 1 cardiac explant affected from dilated cardiomyopathy, and 6 myocardial biopsies of patients submitted to heart transplantation. Methods: All the samples were routinely processed, stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin, Trichromic stain and elastic fiber stain and selected by having the morphological features of myocardial hy-pertrophy: myocytolysis, nuclear pleomorphism, interstitial fibrosis. Results: At immunohistochemistry, myocardial fibers showed cytoplasmic expression of Gal-3 in the 4 patients with aortic valve stenosis (diffuse in 3 and mild in 1), in the 1 patient with cardiac explant (mild) and in the 4/6 transplanted hearts (mild and focal in 3 and diffuse in 1). The 8 patients affected from Tetralogy of Fallot and 2 patients with transplanted hearts resulted negative. Conclusions: The results agreed with the hypothesis that Gal-3 may play a role in cardiac hyper-trophy; its expression in myocardial fibers is not related with the morphological aspects as suggested by the absence in pediatric cases. The presence in myocardial biopsies taken from transplanted hearts would suggest a possible role in predicting clinical outcome of such patients.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems
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