Table 1 The levels of serum Gal-3 in different patients

Heart failure

ELISA (BG Medicine, Waltham, USA).

Decrease in left ventricular systolic function (LVEDV): 14.7(12.8-18.2); stable LVEDV: 17.9(13.7-22); increase in LVEDV: 19(14.9-24.4).

Patients were divided into three groups according to the change in LVEDV: decrease in LVEDV > 8%, stable LVEDV (−8–8%) and an increase in LVEDV > 8%. Plasma Gal-3 is associated with left ventricular remodeling determined by serial echocardiography and predicts long-term mortality in patients with severe chronic heart failure [27].

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

ELISA (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA).

Gal-3 was elevated in RA serum and synovial fluids. In RA, serum Gal-3 correlated with C-reactive protein levels.

Gal-3 is not only involved in inflammation, but also contributes to the activation of synovial fibroblasts [28].

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

ELISA (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA).

Healthy controls: 8.1(4.9–16.7); inactive disease: 18.6(9.7–28.8); active disease: 35.8(15.8–60.8).

Serum levels of Gal-3 are highest in active JIA children, followed by inactive disease and controls [29].

Behçet’s disease (BD)

ELISA (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA).

Active BD patients: 13.08 ± 1.53; inactive BD patients: 8.08 ± 0.71; healthy controls: 7.59 ± 0.48.

Active BD patients had significantly higher levels of serum Gal-3 than inactive patients and controls [30].

Cancer

In house ELISA

Healthy control: 62(20–313); Breast cancer: 100(20–620); Gastrointestinal cancer: 185(20–950); Lung cancer: 171(20–807).

Serum Gal-3 levels were significantly higher in subpopulations of patients having each type of tumor [31].

ELISA (Bender MedSystems, Vienna, Austria).

Controls: 3.07 ± 0.69; Colorectal cancer: 6.81 ± 4.07

Gal-3 ranged higher in cancer patients than in controls [32].

ELISA (Human Gal-3 Assay Kit, IBL)

Bladder cancer: 1.07(0.55-2.03) Control: 0.58(0.26-1.26)

Serum Gal-3 concentration of the bladder cancer patients was higher than that of controls [33].

Asthma

ELISA (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA).

Asthma serum: 1.5(1.1-1.9); healthy control: 1.8(0.8-2.1).

Gal-3 in asthma serum was lower than that of controls (not published).