Alpha-gal syndrome: Implications for cardiovascular disease

Authors

  • John Bianchi Revivicor, 1700 Kraft Drive, Suite 2400, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
  • Anneke Walters Revivicor, 1700 Kraft Drive, Suite 2400, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
  • Zachary W Fitch Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
  • Joseph W Turek Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21542/gcsp.2019.20

Abstract

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) refers to a potentially life-threatening allergy to the molecule galactose-α1,3-galactose (gal), which is expressed on most mammalian tissues but, importantly, is not expressed by humans. This syndrome can manifest as an allergic reaction to mammalian meat products, but other sources of mammalian tissue can also provoke an immune response, including injectable and implantable medical products. This syndrome has been linked to coronary atherosclerosis, and medical products that express gal are routinely used in cardiology and cardiac surgery. This article seeks to discuss potential implications of alpha syndrome as it relates to cardiovascular health and to heighten awareness in the cardiovascular community about this emerging public health issue.

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Published

2020-02-09

Issue

Vol. 2019 No. 3 (2019)

Section

Review articles

License

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.