Association of Galectin-3 with Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in CKD

Background: Aortic stiffness is an important marker of vascular aging and cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is widely used to assess aortic stiffness and has prognostic value for cardiovascular outcomes. Galectin-3, a β-galactoside-binding lectin involved in inflammation, fibrosis, and tissue remodeling, has been associated with cardiovascular and renal disease progression. However, its relationship with aortic stiffness in patients with CKD remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to investigate the association between serum galectin-3 levels and aortic stiffness in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD stage 3-5. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 176 patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD stage 3-5. Serum galectin-3 concentrations were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Aortic stiffness was defined as a cfPWV of more than 10 m/s, while cfPWV values ≤ 10 m/s defined the control group, according to the ESH-ESC 2018 guideline. Results: Among the 176 patients with CKD, 63 patients had aortic stiffness. Compared with the control group, patients with aortic stiffness were older (P < 0.001), had higher systolic blood pressure (P < 0.001), fasting glucose (P < 0.001), urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (P = 0.006), and serum galectin-3 levels (P = 0.002). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was also higher in the aortic stiffness group (P < 0.001). After adjusting for factors significantly associated with aortic stiffness by multivariable logistic regression analysis, serum galectin-3 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.100, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.015–1.192, P = 0.020), age (OR: 1.068, 95% CI: 1.026–1.111, P = 0.001), and systolic blood pressure (OR: 1.158, 95% CI: 1.098–1.221, P < 0.001) were independently associated with aortic stiffness in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD stage 3-5. In multivariable forward stepwise linear regression analysis, age (P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (P < 0.001), and log-transformed galectin-3 (P = 0.020) remained independently positively associated with cfPWV. Conclusion: Higher serum galectin-3 levels were independently associated with aortic stiffness in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD stage 3-5. Galectin-3 was also positively associated with cfPWV, particularly among patients with advanced CKD.