The relation among aldosterone, galectin-3, and myocardial fibrosis: a prospective clinical pilot follow-up study

Primary aldosteronism has been associated with myocardial fibrosis, and is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. We previously showed that aldosterone can induce the secretion of galectin-3. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between myocardial fibrosis and plasma galectin-3 level in patients with primary aldosteronism. We prospectively analyzed 11 patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) who received adrenalectomy from December 2006 to October 2008, and 17 patients with essential hypertension as controls. Levels of plasma galectin-3 were determined in both groups, and both groups underwent echocardiography with cyclic variations of integrated backscatter (CVIBS) to characterize tissue initially and 1year after surgery in the APA group. Diastolic blood pressure, concentration of plasma aldosterone and aldosterone-renin ratio were significantly higher, and serum potassium level and plasma renin activity significantly lower in the APA group compared to the controls. In addition, left ventricular mass index was significantly higher and CVIBS significantly lower in the APA group (7.32.0 vs 9.2 +/- 1.7dB, p=0.015). Furthermore, the concentration of plasma galectin-3 was significantly higher in the APA group (2.1 +/- 0.9 vs 1.1 +/- 0.6ng/mL, p=0.005) compared to the controls. CVIBS was correlated to plasma galectin-3 level. In the APA group, CVIBS increased significantly (7.3 +/- 2.0 to 9.2 +/- 2.4dB, p=0.032) and plasma galectin-3 decreased (2.1 +/- 0.9 to 1.2 +/- 0.6, p=0.049) 1year postadrenalectomy. The patients with APA had increased myocardial fibrosis, and this was associated with a higher plasma galectin-3 level. Both increased myocardial fibrosis and plasma galectin-3 level recovered at least partially after adrenalectomy. Trial registration number 200611031R; Results.