Aldosterone, Galectin-3, and NTproBNP Levels and their Values as Biomarkers in Infants with Ventricular Septal Defect

Objective: Galectin-3 is a biomarker used to detect cardiac remodeling and fibrosis. It could also potentially be a biomarker of treatments that could be developed. Aldosterone and galectin-3 levels and their relationship to N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and left ventricular dilatation have not yet been studied in infants with ventricular septal defect (VSD). This study, it was aimed to investigate the biomarker feature of galectin-3 in infants with VSD.
Methods: Aldosterone, galectin-3, and NT-ProBNP levels were quantified, and left ventricular diameters were measured by M mode echocardiography in infants with isolated VSD who received heart failure treatment. The results were compared with those of healthy children of similar age and gender.
Results: This study included 22 infants (13 girls, 9 boys) with VSD who formed the patient group and 22 healthy infants (13 girls, 9 boys) who formed the control group. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the median left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and the median left ventricular end-systole diameter. The patient and control groups had no significant difference with respect to aldosterone levels (median values: 43.5 pg/ml vs 41.3 pg/ml, respectively) (p=0.851) although there was a significant difference with regard to galectin-3 levels (median values: 4 vs 2.5 ng/ml, respectively) (p=0.015) and NT-proBNP levels (median values: 204.3 vs 94.2 pg/ml, respectively) (p=0.003).
Conclusion: Galectin-3 increases independently of left ventricular dilatation and may have a biomarker value with similar strength as NT-proBNP in infants with VSD.

Keywords: Ventricular septal defect, aldosterone, galectin-3, NT-proBNP, children