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CC BY 4.0 · Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica (RBCP) – Brazilian Journal of Plastic Surgery 2024; 39(03): 217712352024rbcp0936pt
DOI: 10.5935/2177-1235.2024RBCP0936-PT
Artigo Original

Elevated expression of galectin-3 in excessive scars: A pilot study

Article in several languages: português | English
VICTOR FREIRE SALOMÃO FERREIRA 
1   Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Patologia Geral, Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
2   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
FELIPE SIMÕES LEMOS 
2   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
4   Fiocruz, Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
ROBERTO STEFAN DE ALMEIDA RIBEIRO 
1   Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Patologia Geral, Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
SILVIO RENAN PINHEIRO VICTOR DE-ARAÚJO 
1   Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Patologia Geral, Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
FABIO SANTIAGO FIGUEREDO 
1   Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Patologia Geral, Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
MARIA LIDIA DE ABREU SILVA 
3   Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Setor de Cirurgia Plástica, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
FELIPE LEITE DE-OLIVEIRA 
2   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
,
THAÍS PORTO AMADEU 
1   Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Patologia Geral, Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
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▪ ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Hypertrophic scars and keloids are types of excessive scars from abnormal skin healing. Galectin-3 (gal-3) is a protein from the lectin family capable of identifying carbohydrates, which can combine and act on different molecules. In the literature, the action of gal-3 as the main regulatory agent of fibrogenesis has already been described and is currently used in anti-fibrotic therapy for various organs such as the lung and liver. The objective of this pilot study was to show preliminary results found in the expression of gal-3 in exacerbated scars.

Method:

Twenty biopsy samples from excessive scars (16 keloids and 4 hypertrophic scars) and 9 samples from normal scars were collected from 22 women and 7 men. These samples were processed for routine histopathological analysis by immunohistochemistry to detect gal-3. Gal-3 positive cells were quantified by the stereological method using a 36-point grid.

Results:

Immunohistochemistry showed high expression of gal-3 in endothelial and epithelial cells of all scar samples, as well as expression in cells distributed throughout the dermis. Higher gal-3 expression was found in keloid samples (28% positive cells) compared to normal (18%) and hypertrophic (22%) scars (p = 0.0075). The results were obtained from a small number of patients, as this was a pilot study.

Conclusion:

The data suggest that gal-3 participates in the healing process and, due to its greater presence in keloid samples, it may be a potential biomarker for keloid formation and a promising therapeutic target to be explored.

Keywords:

Immunohistochemistry - Keloid - Cicatrix, hypertrophic - Galectin 3 - Wound healing

Institution: Laboratório de Imunopatologia da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.




Publication History

Received: 05 March 2024

Accepted: 30 April 2024

Article published online:
22 May 2025

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Bibliographical Record
VICTOR FREIRE SALOMÃO FERREIRA, FELIPE SIMÕES LEMOS, ROBERTO STEFAN DE ALMEIDA RIBEIRO, SILVIO RENAN PINHEIRO VICTOR DE-ARAÚJO, FABIO SANTIAGO FIGUEREDO, MARIA LIDIA DE ABREU SILVA, FELIPE LEITE DE-OLIVEIRA, THAÍS PORTO AMADEU. Elevada expressão de galectina-3 em cicatrizes excessivas: Um estudo piloto. Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica (RBCP) – Brazilian Journal of Plastic Surgery 2024; 39: 217712352024rbcp0936pt.
DOI: 10.5935/2177-1235.2024RBCP0936-PT
 

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