Growth Differentiation Factor (GDF)-15 in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

What is it about?

Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is produced by many organs in the body in response to physiological stress. GDF-15 can act entirely within the cells that make it, or can also circulate throughout the body to act elsewhere. Concentrations of GDF-15 in peripheral blood are high in many diseases and even in healthy people they correlate with future risk of death or heart disease. One exception is pregnancy, in which GDF-15 levels are high and decreases signal impending miscarriage. A recently identified receptor for GDF-15 in the brain controls appetite. This article reviews known actions of GDF-15 and discusses key research questions that need to be answered.

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