Galectin-3 Concentration in Liver Diseases.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in serum galectin-3 concentration during liver diseases. The results were compared with hyaluronic acid concentration in combination with prothrombin index as a HAPRI index. Serum samples were obtained from 20 healthy volunteers and 109 patients suffering from alcoholic cirrhosis (AC)--57, non-alcoholic cirrhosis (NAC)--30 and toxic hepatitis (HT)--22 patients. Cirrhotic patients were classified according to Child-Pugh scale. Galectin-3 concentration was measured by the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay and HAPRI index was calculated using a formula. There was a significant increase in the serum concentration of galectin-3 in patients with AC, NAC and HT, and significant differences between diseases were observed. The mean galectin-3 concentration in AC was significantly higher than that in HT. The serum galectin-3 level differs significantly according to severity of cirrhosis and was the highest in Child-Pugh class C. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values and the area under the ROC curve for galectin-3 and HAPRI were high and similar to each other. In conclusion, galectin-3 is a good marker of fibrosis in cirrhosis and toxic hepatitis, which reflects the stage of liver damage, like the HAPRI index.