Abdelgalil Aya Hamed Ahmed, Elsharaby Radwa Mahmoud, Abd EIGhany Salwa Elmorsy, Ibrahim Wesam Salah
Department of Clinical Pathology, Tanta Faculty of Medicine, Tanta, Egypt.
Department of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tanta Faculty of Medicine, Tanta, Egypt.
J Investig Med. 2025 Apr 2:10815589251333729. doi: 10.1177/10815589251333729.
Galectin-9 (Gal-9) has a significant regulatory function in autoimmune disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The objective of this study was to assess the blood levels of Galectin-9 in patients with SLE and investigate the correlation between the protein and disease activity. The study employed a case-control design involving 75 participants, aged between 25 and 55 years, representing both sexes, all of whom had been diagnosed with SLE and were either in a quiescent or active phase of the disease. Three equal groups of participants were created. It was shown that Galectin-9 has 88% sensitivity and 80% specificity, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.901. With a computed positive predictive value of 81% and a negative predictive value of 87%, the total accuracy was 84%. In addition, a strong positive connection (R = 0.606) was found between anti-double strand DNA and Gal-9 levels, urea (R = 0.482), creatinine (R = 0.530), proteinuria (R = 0.488), albumin-to-creatinine ratio (R = 0.7), and SLEDAI (R = 0.815) and there is negative correlation with hemoglobin (R = -0.772), white blood cells (R = -0.849), platelets (R = -0.481), and complement 3 (R = -0.578). Compared to healthy persons, patients with SLE had considerably higher serum concentrations of Gal-9. Patients without active illness did not have elevated levels of Gal-9; those with active SLE did. Moreover, Gal-9 showed a robust association with the activity of SLE illness, indicating a possible involvement in the onset of SLE.
半乳糖凝集素-9（Gal-9）在包括系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）在内的自身免疫性疾病中具有重要的调节功能。本研究的目的是评估SLE患者血液中半乳糖凝集素-9的水平，并调查该蛋白与疾病活动度之间的相关性。该研究采用病例对照设计，纳入了75名年龄在25至55岁之间的参与者，涵盖男女两性，所有参与者均被诊断为SLE，且处于疾病的静止期或活动期。将参与者分为三组，每组人数相等。结果显示，半乳糖凝集素-9的灵敏度为88%，特异性为80%，曲线下面积（AUC）为0.901。计算得出的阳性预测值为81%，阴性预测值为87%，总准确率为84%。此外，抗双链DNA与Gal-9水平、尿素（R = 0.482）、肌酐（R = 0.530）、蛋白尿（R = 0.488）、白蛋白与肌酐比值（R = 0.7）以及SLE疾病活动指数（SLEDAI，R = 0.815）之间存在强正相关，而与血红蛋白（R = -0.772）、白细胞（R = -0.849）、血小板（R = -0.481）和补体3（R = -0.578）呈负相关。与健康人相比，SLE患者的血清Gal-9浓度显著更高。无活动性疾病的患者Gal-9水平未升高；而活动性SLE患者的Gal-9水平升高。此外，Gal-9与SLE疾病活动度密切相关，表明其可能参与了SLE的发病过程。
