Galectin-3 expression in bronchiectasis and spontaneous pneumothorax

Bronchiectasis, first described in 1819, by Laennec as the pathologic changes of abnormal bronchial dilatation with chronic necrotizing infection, now generally refers to the clinical syndrome caused by abnormal dilatation of bronchi. Nonsurgical treatments included appropriate antibiotic therapy, postural drainage with vibratory massage, and also possibly bronchodilator and corticosteroid treatments. Surgical intervention can be indicated in patients with isolated lobar bronchiectasis in whom there is no underlying condition that is associated with more generalized bronchiectasis. The results are best where the lobe contributes little to lung function. Palliative surgery is sometimes considered when a localized area of bronchiectasis cannot be symptomatically controlled medically and acts as a pool for infection.A pneumothorax is the presence of air between the two layers of pleura, resulting in partial or complete collapse of the lung. A pneumothorax that occurs without any apparent cause in people without a known lung disorder is called a primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax usually occurs when a small weakened area of lung (bulla) ruptures. Spontaneous pneumothorax also occurs in people with an underlying lung disorder (secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. This type of pneumothorax most often results from the rupture of a bulla in older people who have emphysema, but it also occurs in people with other lung conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, Langerhans' cell granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, lung abscess, tuberculosis, and Pneumocystis pneumonia. Recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax is a disabling disorder, which may present either in young and otherwise healthy patients (primary pneumothorax) or as a complication of an underlying lung disease (secondary pneumothorax). The current treatment options vary from observation, catheter aspiration, continuous thoracic drainage for first episodes of pneumothorax, chemical pleurodesis, videoassisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and thoracotomy for recurrent or persistent spontaneous pneumothorax.Galectin-3 is a member of a ß-galactoside-binding animal lectin family. Galectin-3 can enhance the proliferation of respiratory epithelial cells by limiting adhesion to the basement membrane through competition with integrin receptors for the binding of laminin in the extracellular matrix. Galectins-3 regulate epithelial proliferation/apoptosis and neutrophil activation, and are implicated in lung cancer and asthma. The role of galectin-3 in bronchiectasis characterised by epithelial changes and neutrophil infiltration and as well in primary spontaneous pneumothorax, remains unknown.In this study, galectin-3 expression was detected by immunohistochemicaly in the bronchial epithelium of lung specimens from 20 bronchiectasis patients and 10 spontane pneumothorax patients. The detail examination of Galectin-3 expression with immunohistochemicaly tecnics and other histopathological changes to be formed in the airways in bronchiectasis and spontaneous pneumothorax cases, can be contribute to explain the etiopathogenesis and to learn more about these diseases, and to develop the new approaches in the treatment of theses diseases.