Galectin-3 increases the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in pulmonary artery fibroblasts by regulating the glycogen synthase kinase-3β/β-catenin pathway

Wei Haidong; Hu Yating; Li Binbin; Xue Xiaoli; Liu Xiyue; Li Fangwei; Wang Yijie

doi:10.13406/j.cnki.cyxb.003834

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Galectin-3 increases the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in pulmonary artery fibroblasts by regulating the glycogen synthase kinase-3β/β-catenin pathway

Basic research | 更新时间：2026-04-15

- Galectin-3 increases the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in pulmonary artery fibroblasts by regulating the glycogen synthase kinase-3β/β-catenin pathway
- Journal of Chongqing Medical University Vol. 51, Issue 4, Pages: 540-546(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  兰州大学第二医院呼吸与危重症医学科，兰州　730030
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.13406/j.cnki.cyxb.003834
  CLC： R543.2
- Received：02 January 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-02-25，
  
  Accepted：04 March 2025，
  
  Published：28 April 2026
- 稿件说明：
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魏海东,胡雅婷,李彬彬等.Galectin-3通过GSK-3β/β-catenin通路增加肺动脉成纤维细胞中Ⅰ型胶原的表达[J].重庆医科大学学报,2026,51(04):540-546.

Wei Haidong,Hu Yating,Li Binbin,et al.Galectin-3 increases the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in pulmonary artery fibroblasts by regulating the glycogen synthase kinase-3β/β-catenin pathway[J].Journal of Chongqing Medical University,2026,51(04):540-546.
魏海东,胡雅婷,李彬彬等.Galectin-3通过GSK-3β/β-catenin通路增加肺动脉成纤维细胞中Ⅰ型胶原的表达[J].重庆医科大学学报,2026,51(04):540-546. DOI： 10.13406/j.cnki.cyxb.003834.

Wei Haidong,Hu Yating,Li Binbin,et al.Galectin-3 increases the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in pulmonary artery fibroblasts by regulating the glycogen synthase kinase-3β/β-catenin pathway[J].Journal of Chongqing Medical University,2026,51(04):540-546. DOI： 10.13406/j.cnki.cyxb.003834.

摘要

目的

探讨细胞外基质（extracellular matrix，ECM）过度沉积在肺血管重塑和肺动脉高压（pulmonary hypertension，PH）中的作用及其分子机制。

方法

采用不同浓度（0、1、2、5、10 μg/mL）半乳糖凝集素-3（galectin-3，Gal-3）刺激大鼠肺动脉成纤维细胞（pulmonary artery fibroblasts，PAFs）24 h，或者采用2 μg/mL Gal-3处理PAFs不同时间（0、12、24、48、72 h），酶联免疫吸附试验检测Ⅰ型胶原的蛋白水平；使用GSK-3β siRNA及β-catenin siRNA分别特异性沉默GSK-3β、β-catenin表达，qRT-PCR检测β-catenin mRNA水平，免疫印迹法检测β-catenin蛋白水平，免疫荧光染色检测β-catenin蛋白的亚细胞定位。

结果

Gal-3剂量和时间依赖性增加大鼠PAFs培养上清液中的Ⅰ型胶原蛋白；与对照组比较，Gal-3处理组细胞中GSK-3β磷酸化和失活，β-catenin蛋白含量增加（

18.242，

0.000）并从细胞质向细胞核移位。与对照组比较，Gal-3处理组或GSK-3β siRNA组均可增加β-catenin的蛋白水平，但不影响其mRNA水平；与Gal‑3处理组比较，β-catenin siRNA+Gal-3组细胞中的Ⅰ型胶原蛋白水平有所下调（

=9.965，

=0.028）。

结论

Gal-3通过调节GSK-3β/β-catenin信号通路增加PAFs中Ⅰ型胶原的表达，表明干预Gal-3或GSK-3β/β-catenin信号通路在预防和治疗PH方面具有潜在价值。

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the role and molecular mechanism of excessive deposition of extracellular matrix in pulmonary vascular remodeling and pulmonary hypertension（PH）.

Methods

Rat pulmonary artery fibroblasts（PAFs） were treated with galectin-3（Gal-3） at different concentrations（0，1，2，5，10 μg/mL） for 24 hours or 2 μg/mL Gal-3 for different periods of time（0，12，24，48，72 hours），and ELISA was used to measure the level of collagen type I. Glycogen synthase kinase-3β（GSK-3β） siRNA and β-catenin siRNA were used to specifically silence GSK-3β and β-catenin，respectively；qRT-PCR was used to measure the mRNA level of β-catenin，Western blotting was used to measure the protein level of β-catenin，and immunofluorescent staining was used to determine the subcellular localization of β-catenin.

Results

Gal-3 increased the level of collagen type Ⅰ in culture supernatant of rat PAFs in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Compared with the control group，the Gal‑3 treatment group had phosphorylation and inactivation of GSK-3β，a si

gnificant increase in the content of β-catenin（

=18.242，

=0.000），and the translocation of β-catenin from cytoplasm to nucleus. In addition，compared with the control group，Gal-3 treatment and GSK-3β siRNA increased the level of β-catenin and did not affect the mRNA level of β-catenin，and compared with the Gal‑3 group，the β-catenin siRNA+Gal-3 group had a reduction in the protein level of collagen type Ⅰ in cells（

=9.965，

=0.028）.

Conclusion

Gal-3 increases the expression of collagen type I in PAFs by regulating the GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway，suggesting that intervention of Gal-3 or the GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway may have a potential value in the prevention and treatment of PH.

关键词

Keywords

references

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