Background/Purpose:

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with significant cardiovascular disease (CVD), sarcopenic obesity, and mortality. Galectin-3 is a biomarker associated with inflammation, fibrosis, and increased risk of CVD and all-cause mortality. We aimed to: 1) explore clinical relationships between RA and galectin-3; and 2) investigate changes in galectin-3 in patients with RA and prediabetes mellitus (PD) before and after a novel high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program.

Methods:

All RA patients in this study satisfied 1987 ACR criteria. Serum galectin-3 was measured in 47 persons with RA; concentrations were compared among older RA (age>55yrs; n=24), younger RA (<55 y, n=23), and older, age, sex and BMI-matched healthy controls (>55 y, n=12). In a second study, we compared galectin-3 in older RA (age<50; n=12) to older PD (age<50; n=9), before and after 10 weeks of HIIT. Student’s t-tests and Wilcoxin signed rank tests were used to compare outcome variables. Correlations were compared using Spearman’s rho.

Results:

As compared to both the younger RA group (7.85±4.0(SD) ng/mL, p=0.390) and older healthy controls (6.89±1.9, p=0.042), the older RA group had higher concentrations of galectin-3 plasma concentrations (8.80±3.5). In the total RA group (n=47), galectin-3 was significantly and positively correlated with age (r=0.39), BMI (r=0.32), prednisone use (r=0.42), plasma IL-6 (r=0.29), and thigh cross-sectional area (r=0.46); it was negatively correlated with thigh muscle density (r=-0.44; p<0.05 for all). In the HIIT study, as compared to the PD group, the RA group was younger (63.9±7.2 vs 71.4±4.9, p<0.05) and thinner (27.4±9.3 vs 29.4±3.0, p<0.05). After HIIT, galectin-3 did not change in either group, but both baseline and post-HIIT galectin-3 were greater in the RA group compared to the PD group (pre: 12.21±6.7 vs 8.73±2.3, p=0.118; post: 11.99±4.2 vs 8.71±2.3, p=0.056). A decrease in galectin-3 was also correlated with an increase in absolute peak VO₂ in the total group (r=-0.47, p=0.03) and in RA (r=-0.57, p=0.05).

Conclusion:

In RA, greater galectin-3 plasma concentrations associate with traditional cardiovascular risk factors including age and adiposity, as well as with RA-specific risk factors, including prednisone use and IL-6. The importance of RA-specific risks is emphasized by greater galectin-3 in RA even when comparing to an older, heavier, prediabetic cohort. While HIIT did not change mean galectin-3 concentrations, reductions in galectin-3 were associated with cardiorespiratory fitness improvements in RA. These findings suggest that galectin-3 may represent a novel risk factor for CVD in RA, and that CVD risk in RA may be modulated by exercise training.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/serum-galectin-3-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-compared-with-healthy-controls-and-subjects-with-prediabetes-before-and-after-high-intensity-interval-training/