GDF-15 as a Target and Biomarker for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Translational Prospective

Table 2

List of human studies dealing with GDF-15 levels in cardiovascular diseases.

Disease/population/follow-up period	Sample size	Major findings	Reference
Acute myocardial infarction [AMI]	1142	GDF-15 is a prognostic marker of death and HF in patients with AMI Multimarker approach with GDF-15 and NT-pro-BNP is more informative than either marker alone and may be useful for risk stratification in AMI patients	[29]
Acute coronary syndrome [ACS]; (PROVE IT-TIMI 22)	3501	GDF-15 is altered with recurrent events after ACS. GDF-15 may be used as a prognostic marker in ACS	[30]
Human model of acute muscle wasting following cardiac surgery	42	GDF-15 is a potential novel factor associated with muscle atrophy, which may become a therapeutic target in patients with ICU acquired paresis and other forms of acute muscle wasting	[31]
Non–ST-elevation ACS (FRISC-II) trial; (2 years)	2079	GDF-15 is a potential tool for risk stratification and therapeutic decision making in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome	[32]
General adult population; (Dallas Heart Study); (7.3 years follow up period)	3219	GDF-15 is independently marker for subclinical coronary atherosclerosis and mortality	[33]
Framingham Offspring; cohort participants; (9.5 years follow up period)	2614	Higher circulating GDF-15 was observed with incident renal outcomes and improves risk prediction of incident chronic kidney diseases (CKD)	[34]
Hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy (H-LVH), hypertensive cardiomyopathy (HCM)	149	GDF-15 might be a useful biomarker for discriminating HCM from H-LVH	[35]
Patients with preclinical diastolic dysfunction or heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HFnEF)	119	GDF-15 levels are elevated in subjects with HFnEF and can differentiate normal diastolic function from asymptomatic LVDD	[36]
Patients with stable ischemic heart disease; (Heart and Soul study); (8.9 yrs follow-up period)	984	Higher GDF-15 level was observed with major cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with stable ischemic heart disease	[37]
Untreated hypertensive patients	299	Plasma GDF-15 level was increased with LVH in hypertensive patients	[38]
71-year-old men; (ULSAM study)	940	In elderly men, GDF-15 improves progression of both cardiovascular, cancer mortality, and morbidity beyond established risk factors and biomarkers of cardiac, renal dysfunction, and inflammation	[39]
Heart failure; (Val-HeFT study)	1734	Providing independent prognostic information in heart failure	[40]
Coronary artery diseases (CAD)	CAD ( = 348) and ( = 205) controls	Significant differences of GDF-15, IMA, and PAPP-A in patients with CAD. GDF-15 might be associated with severity of CAD	[41]
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting with Cardiopulmonary Bypass	34 patients	GDF-15 levels were increased substantially and it is associated with the renal and cardiac biomarkers	[42]
Patients on maintenance hemodialysis	Hemodialysis ( = 87), and controls ( = 45)	Relation between GDF-15, mortality, and carotid artery thickening suggests that GDF-15 may be a novel marker of atherosclerosis, inflammation, and malnutrition in hemodialysis patients	[43]
ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (3 years)	Patients with STEMI; ( = 216)	High GDF-15 level is a strong predictor of death and heart failure in patients with STEMI. Although patients with higher GDF-15 levels tend to have lower LV ejection fraction	[44]
Acute chest pain; (APACE study)	646	GDF-15 is a better predictor of mortality than of nonfatal CV events	[45]