Serum Galectin-3 as a Marker of Human Papillomavirus Infection

Every patient had a cryotherapy session every 2 weeks until complete clearance for a maximum of six sessions and follow-up was done at 3 months after treatment completion to detect any recurrence. Each wart was frozen using the spray technique by CRY-AC Liquid Nitrogen Dispenser Brymill, USA for 10 to 30 seconds until a 1- to 2-mm ice ball halo was formed surrounding the targeted area.

From each patient and control, 3 ml venous blood was withdrawn under complete aseptic conditions before treatment and 2 weeks after the last treatment session by a disposable plastic syringe; the collected blood was placed on a plain tube without anticoagulant for 30 min at room temperature till coagulation occurs; after this, centrifugation of tubes was done for 20 min at 1000 rpm. The serum was separated into an aliquot and placed at -20 degrees Celsius for further analysis. Serum Gal-3 was measured using human Galectin-3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits supplied by ELK Biotechnology CO., LTD, Wuhan, China, catalog number (ELK2790) based on the Sandwich-ELISA technique as per the manufacturer's instructions.