Serum Galectin-1 Level in Egyptian Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects the small joints of the hand, wrist, and feet. If left untreated, it can lead to extensive impacts on quality of life, with loss of productivity due to damaged and deformed joints. It is also associated with significant extra-articular manifestations and mortality. The cause of developing the disease is still unknown which leads to ongoing studies to further understand the pathogenesis and find new treatment targets and new classes of therapeutics. One of the studied markers is Galectin-1 (Gal-1). Gal-1 is a part of Galectin family and is their prototype. It could be found in a large number of tissues with pro-inflammatory and antiinflammatory effects depending on the cellular microenvironment. Objectives To evaluate the serum level of Galectin-1 in Egyptian rheumatoid arthritis patients and controls. Patient and methods This case-control study included 20 Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed according to 2010 ACR\EULAR criteria and 20 Egyptian healthy controls. Every patient is subjected to full clinical examination; swollen joints, tender joints, deformity, laboratory investigations; serum Galectin-1 level, ESR, CRP, CBC, SGPT, SGOT, creatinine, urea, Anti-CCP, RF. Results Comparing serum Galectin-1 levels between Egyptian RA cases and controls, there was a highly statistically significant increase in the serum Galectin-1 level in RA Cases group than the control group with a p-value <0.001 with a cut-off point between the control group and Cases group > 15 (ng/ml). There was a non-significant change in serum Galectin-1 level between different disease activity categories according to DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP. Conclusion Our study demonstrated the usefulness of measuring serum Galectin-1 in Egyptian patients with RA with high validity. This proves the role of Galectin-1 in RA pathogenesis.