Whole-Blood Transcriptomics Highlights Galectin-1 in Systolic Blood Pressure
- 1Meharry Medical College
Abstract
Background Galectins regulate inflammation, fibrosis, immunity, and vascular remodeling. Although galectin-3 has been widely studied in cardiovascular disease, the relative contributions of other galectins to blood pressure regulation remain unclear. We systematically evaluated associations between galectin gene expression and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in African Americans. Methods Whole-blood mRNA sequencing data were analyzed from 419 African American participants in the GENE-FORECAST cohort who were free of type 2 diabetes and not receiving antihypertensive medications. LGALS1, LGALS3, LGALS8, and LGALS9 were evaluated using generalized linear models adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. Associations with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging traits and circulating inflammatory cytokines were also examined. Results LGALS1 showed the strongest association with SBP ({beta}=13.25 mm Hg per standard deviation increase; P=7.57e-15). LGALS9 was positively associated with SBP ({beta}=9.73; P=7.59e-9), whereas LGALS3 showed a weaker positive association ({beta}=4.06; P=0.019). LGALS8 was inversely associated with SBP ({beta}=-6.45; P=1.66e-4), as was the LGALS3/LGALS1 ratio ({beta}=-10.2; P=2.34e-9). Galectin genes also showed distinct associations with cardiac imaging traits. Cytokine associations were modest and inconsistent, although LGALS1 was positively associated with interleukin-1{beta}. Conclusions Whole-blood transcriptomics identified LGALS1 as the strongest galectin correlate of SBP in African Americans. Divergent associations across galectin genes suggest heterogeneous, potentially nonredundant cardiovascular roles. These findings broaden the focus beyond LGALS3 and support further investigation of LGALS1 as a biomarker and possible mediator of hypertension-related vascular stress.
Related
- Adjusting for Medication Use in GWAS and Its Impact on Mendelian Randomisation Analyses: An Example of Systolic Blood Pressure in UK Biobank
- Systolic blood pressure and albuminuria reduction mediate cardiovascular benefits of finerenone in T2 diabetes and CKD
- Associations of the metabolic score for insulin resistance and uric acid with prevalent thyroid nodules: A cross-sectional study with systolic blood pressure mediation analysis and C-TIRADS category-specific analyses
- Melanoma suppresses galectin-9-glycan axis in dendritic cells and galectin-9 restoration limits T regulatory cell expansion
- The galectin-3 carbohydrate recognition domain maintains plasma membrane phosphatidylserine required for KRAS function
BibTeX
@misc{gaye2026wholeblood,
title = {{Whole-Blood Transcriptomics Highlights Galectin-1 in Systolic Blood Pressure}},
author = {A. Gaye and A. F. Oliver and M. L. Lindsey and G. Gonzalez},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.11.751025},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.11.751025v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Whole-Blood Transcriptomics Highlights Galectin-1 in Systolic Blood Pressure
AU - A. Gaye
AU - A. F. Oliver
AU - M. L. Lindsey
AU - G. Gonzalez
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.11.751025
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.11.751025v1
AB - Background Galectins regulate inflammation, fibrosis, immunity, and vascular remodeling. Although galectin-3 has been widely studied in cardiovascular disease, the relative contributions of other galectins to blood pressure regulation remain unclear. We systematically evaluated associations between galectin gene expression and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in African Americans. Methods Whole-blood mRNA sequencing data were analyzed from 419 African American participants in the GENE-FORECAST cohort who were free of type 2 diabetes and not receiving antihypertensive medications. LGALS1, LGALS3, LGALS8, and LGALS9 were evaluated using generalized linear models adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. Associations with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging traits and circulating inflammatory cytokines were also examined. Results LGALS1 showed the strongest association with SBP ({beta}=13.25 mm Hg per standard deviation increase; P=7.57e-15). LGALS9 was positively associated with SBP ({beta}=9.73; P=7.59e-9), whereas LGALS3 showed a weaker positive association ({beta}=4.06; P=0.019). LGALS8 was inversely associated with SBP ({beta}=-6.45; P=1.66e-4), as was the LGALS3/LGALS1 ratio ({beta}=-10.2; P=2.34e-9). Galectin genes also showed distinct associations with cardiac imaging traits. Cytokine associations were modest and inconsistent, although LGALS1 was positively associated with interleukin-1{beta}. Conclusions Whole-blood transcriptomics identified LGALS1 as the strongest galectin correlate of SBP in African Americans. Divergent associations across galectin genes suggest heterogeneous, potentially nonredundant cardiovascular roles. These findings broaden the focus beyond LGALS3 and support further investigation of LGALS1 as a biomarker and possible mediator of hypertension-related vascular stress.
ER -