Serum Growth Differentiation Factor 15 in Parkinson Disease

Abstract

Background: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) has been shown to be protective for dopaminergic neurons in animal and ex vivo experiments. However, little is known about its effect on the human body. Objective: This study investigated associations between serum GDF15 levels and clinical parameters in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: Idiopathic PD patients (n = 104) and age-matched controls (n = 88) were enrolled. Serum GDF15 levels were measured by human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Univariate and multivariate analyses investigated correlations between GDF15 and clinical characteristics, including disease severity by the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS)-III. The diagnostic value of GDF15 was evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. Results: The serum GDF15 levels of the PD patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls. In PD patients, serum GDF15 levels in men were significantly higher than in women. GDF15 levels correlated with age, gender, disease duration, and UPDRS-III score. After adjusting for confounding factors, multiple linear regression analysis showed that the serum GDF15 level (β = 0.015, p = 0.001) was an independent risk factor for UPDRS-III score. In ROC analysis, GDF15 achieved an area under the curve of 0.86 for the identification of PD, with a sensitivity of 71.15% and a specificity of 87.50%. Conclusion: GDF15 may be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and monitoring of motor severity in PD.

Serum FGF-21, GDF-15, and blood mtDNA copy number are not biomarkers of Parkinson disease

“…18 The only other report on these serum markers was undertaken in a Chinese PD cohort and only investigated GDF-15. 12 This study identified a difference in GDF-15 levels between patients with idiopathic PD and healthy controls, with a diagnostic sensitivity of 71.2%, specificity of 82.5%, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 86%. 12 This is in stark contrast to our findings, showing that GDF-15 provides no meaningful diagnostic indication.…”

“…10,11 Serum levels of GDF-15 were found to be increased in Chinese patients with PD compared with controls. 12 In contrast, GDF-15 levels in the CSF were similar in German nondemented PD patients and controls, but increased in patients with PD and dementia and patients with Lewy body dementia. GDF-15 levels were also found to correlate with age at onset of parkinsonism and age at onset of dementia, as well as with the neurodegenerative markers t-Tau and p-Tau.…”

Disease-specific plasma levels of mitokines FGF21, GDF15, and Humanin in type II diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease in comparison with healthy aging

“…Some studies reported that higher levels of GDF-15 (plasma, serum, or cerebrospinal fluid) are associated with cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as with decreased gray matter volumes and white matter integrity. All these data suggest that GDF15 could be a possible biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases [ 70 – 72 ]. However, none of these studies described the levels of GDF15 for AD patients, but rather for Parkinson’s disease or Lewy Body Dementia.…”

Growth Differentiation Factor 15 Is Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

“…As for the relationship between GDF-15 and PD, elevated levels of GDF-15 were observed in PD patients compared to age-matched controls (1,472 vs. 1,093 pg/ml, p = 0.034) in a Japanese cohort (Miyaue et al, 2020). Similarly, in Chinese Han populations, an earlier study (Yao et al, 2017) reported the difference and found that GDF-15 was an independent risk factor for the Unified PD Rating Scale-III score, further suggesting its association with disease severity. As for the participants of European ancestry, however, one recent study (Davis et al, 2020) failed to identify GDF-15 as a biomarker for PD.…”