Shi Z, Meng Z, Han Y, Cao C, Tan G, Wang L
1 Department of Dermatology, 56713 Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital , Guangzhou, China.
2 Institute of Dermatology, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Lupus. 2018 Apr;27(4):621-627. doi: 10.1177/0961203317736144. Epub 2017 Oct 23.
Objective Our previous research suggested that anti-galectin-3 antibody was highly associated with the development of lupus skin lesions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study we aimed to investigate the involvement of galectin-3 in SLE skin damage. Methods The study consisted of 49 patients with SLE, 16 with dermatomyositis and 11 with systemic scleroderma and 20 healthy controls. Galectin-3 was examined by ELISA and immunohistochemical staining in serum and skin, respectively. Results Serum galectin-3 was significantly higher in patients with SLE than in those with dermatomyositis ( P < 0.01), systemic scleroderma ( P < 0.001) and healthy controls ( P < 0.001); however, it was comparable between SLE patients with and without skin lesions ( P = 0.2010 and was not correlated with cutaneous disease activity ( r = -0.020, P = 0.93) or damage score ( r = -0.380, P = 0.09). Galectin-3 expression was reduced in epidermis in lesional skin from patients with SLE, dermatomyositis and systemic scleroderma compared to healthy controls ( P = 0.0055), whereas it was comparable among diseases ( P > 0.05). As for subtypes of skin lesions in SLE, galectin-3 expression was lower in chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus than in acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus ( P = 0.0439). Conclusion Serum galectin-3 is unlikely to play a role in the pathogenesis of lupus skin damage, but can be a potential biomarker for the measurement of SLE disease activity. Galectin-3 is greatly reduced in patients with lupus lesions compared with healthy controls, which may contribute to the recruitment of inflammatory cells in the skin.
目的 我们之前的研究表明，抗半乳糖凝集素-3抗体与系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）患者狼疮皮肤病变的发生高度相关。在本研究中，我们旨在调查半乳糖凝集素-3在SLE皮肤损伤中的作用。方法 该研究纳入了49例SLE患者、16例皮肌炎患者、11例系统性硬化症患者以及20名健康对照者。分别采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）和免疫组织化学染色法检测血清和皮肤中的半乳糖凝集素-3。结果 SLE患者血清中的半乳糖凝集素-3显著高于皮肌炎患者（P < 0.01）、系统性硬化症患者（P < 0.001）和健康对照者（P < 0.001）；然而，有皮肤病变和无皮肤病变的SLE患者之间该指标相当（P = 0.2010），且与皮肤疾病活动度（r = -0.020，P = 0.93）或损伤评分（r = -0.380，P = 0.09）均无相关性。与健康对照者相比，SLE、皮肌炎和系统性硬化症患者皮损处表皮中的半乳糖凝集素-3表达降低（P = 0.0055），而在这几种疾病之间该指标相当（P > 0.05）。至于SLE患者皮肤病变的亚型，慢性皮肤型红斑狼疮中的半乳糖凝集素-3表达低于急性皮肤型红斑狼疮（P = 0.0439）。结论 血清半乳糖凝集素-3不太可能在狼疮皮肤损伤的发病机制中起作用，但可能是衡量SLE疾病活动度的潜在生物标志物。与健康对照者相比，狼疮患者皮损处的半乳糖凝集素-3大幅降低，这可能促使炎症细胞在皮肤中募集。
