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Updated: May 12, 2026
Molecular Analysis of Endothelial-mesenchymal Transition Induced by Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling
Published on: August 3, 2018
Stress-induced growth-differentiation factor 15 plays an intriguing role in cardiovascular diseases
Hai-Tao Liu1, Hai-Chang Wang, Ling Tao
1Department of Cardiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China.
Insights
Growth-differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a promising biomarker for cardiovascular diseases. Elevated GDF-15 levels indicate poor prognosis but also offer protective effects on the heart.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cardiology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Growth-differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a cytokine belonging to the transforming growth factor-β superfamily.
- Under normal physiological conditions, GDF-15 expression in the myocardium is minimal.
- Pathological stress significantly increases GDF-15 expression levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of GDF-15's role in heart disease.
- To explore GDF-15 as a potential prognostic biomarker in cardiovascular conditions.
Main Methods:
- A literature search was conducted using the PubMed database.
- Keywords included "heart," "cardiac," "cardiovascular disease," and "GDF-15."
- Relevant studies comprised well-controlled retrospective analyses and significant individual case reports.
Main Results:
- Elevated GDF-15 levels are strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases and serve as a prognostic indicator.
- GDF-15 demonstrates endogenous anti-hypertrophic properties in cardiomyocytes.
- The factor offers protection against cardiac injury resulting from ischemia and reperfusion.
Conclusions:
- GDF-15 shows potential as a valuable biomarker for assessing and managing patients with cardiovascular diseases.
- GDF-15 may possess inherent protective qualities for myocardial tissue.
Objective:
To provide an overview of the current knowledge of growth-differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) in heart disease.
Data Sources:
To identify relevant publications, we searched PubMED database combining the textual terms of heart, cardiac, cardiovascular disease with GDF-15.
Study Selection:
Well-controlled, relatively large-scale, retrospective studies as well as meaningful individual cases were all selected as materials.
Results:
GDF-15 is a distant member of the transforming growth factor-β cytokine superfamily. In myocardium, GDF-15 is weakly expressed under physiological conditions. However, its expression level is increased in response to pathological stress. Growing evidence indicate that elevated levels of GDF-15 is a promising prognostic biomarker in cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, GDF-15 exhibits the properties of endogenous anti-hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes and protecting the heart suffering from ischemia and reperfusion insult.
Conclusion:
Ve GDF-15 may be a promising biomarker for evaluation and management of patient with cardiovascular diseases, and have potential protective properties on myocardium.
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