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Published on: August 3, 2018
Growth differentiation factor 15 in cardiovascular diseases: from bench to bedside
1Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital and Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory peptides, Ministry of Health (Peking University Third Hospital), Beijing , P.R. China.
Context:
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a novel cytokine showing close association with cardiovascular diseases. The biological mechanism and clinical use of GDF-15 in cardiovascular diseases have been well demonstrated. We review recent investigations from both basic research and clinical trials into the biological role of GDF-15.
Methods:
The data were obtained mainly from MedLine via PubMed and from our own investigations.
Results:
Laboratory investigations revealed that GDF-15 has biphasic effects on cellular survival by several signaling pathways. GDF-15 participates in several cardiovascular pathological processes such as cardiac remodeling, ischemia/reperfusion injury and atherosclerotic plaque formation. As well, GDF-15 was found a prognostic biomarker of heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. The evidence for diagnostic or therapeutic utility is poor.
Conclusion:
GDF-15 has great potential as a biomarker in cardiovascular diseases, especially for prognosis, and is seen as a myocardial protective cytokine, but the exact mechanism of GDF-15 in cardiovascular diseases remains unknown.
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