ArticleAnnals of neurology2015
Growth differentiation factor 15 as a useful biomarker for mitochondrial disorders.
Article in Annals of neurology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02745938 (GDF-15 as a Biomarker for Mitochondrial Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 163 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
GDF-15 as a Biomarker for Mitochondrial Disease
Who cites it
163 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 282 citations in OpenAlex.
- Growth differentiation factor-15 as a biomarker for intensive care unit-acquired weakness: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of the neuroprotective role and biomarker potential of GDF15 in neurodegeneration.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Pooled it
- Accuracy of FGF-21 and GDF-15 for the diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders: A meta-analysis.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2020Pooled it
- Metformin increases glycolysis and the stress-induced cytokine GDF15 but not FGF21 in humans.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Trial
- Lubiprostone in chronic kidney disease: Insights into mitochondrial function and polyamines from a randomized phase 2 clinical trial.Science advances · 2025Trial
- Circulating markers of NADH-reductive stress correlate with mitochondrial disease severity.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2021Trial
- A randomized crossover trial of elamipretide in adults with primary mitochondrial myopathy.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2020Trial
- Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurology: biomarkers and clinical implications.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Context-specific hypermetabolism in humans with mitochondrial defects.Cell press blue · 2026Article
- Association of plasma growth differentiation factor 15 with wake after sleep onset in mild cognitive impairment.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Mitochonic acid 5 alleviates amyotrophic lateral sclerosis phenotypes via mitochondrial augmentation.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Uridine and pyruvate supplementation is associated with Th1 polarization during mitotoxic antibiotic therapy.iScience · 2026Article
- MA-5 attenuates disease-associated transcriptomic aging and pathological microglial states in Gaucher disease.Research square · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial homeodynamics in ageing: mechanisms, resilience, and interventions.Biogerontology · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial DNA A3243G variant-associated MELAS: Recent advances in clinical trials, therapeutic interventions, and disease-modifying strategies.Intractable & rare diseases research · 2026Review
- Advances in Primary Mitochondrial Diseases: Diagnosis, Natural History Studies and Clinical Trials.Genes · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial cardiomyopathy: bridging molecular mechanisms and clinical frontiers.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2026Review
- Late-onset severe axonal polyneuropathy in mut0 methylmalonic acidemia after liver-kidney transplantation: a genotype-informed case report.BMC neurology · 2026Article
- Effects of an indole chemical, mitochonic acid 5, in a mouse model of mitochondrial disease onset.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- From Pharmacodynamic Biomarker to Evaluating Treatment Response: Biomarkers in Primary Mitochondrial Diseases.Clinical and translational science · 2026Review
103 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders (MDs) is occasionally difficult because patients often present with solitary, or a combination of, symptoms caused by each organ insufficiency, which may be the result of respiratory chain enzyme deficiency. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) has been reported to be elevated in serum of patients with MDs. In this study, we investigated whether GDF-15 is a more useful biomarker for MDs than several conventional biomarkers.
methodsWe measured the serum levels of GDF-15 and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21), as well as other biomarkers, in 48 MD patients and in 146 healthy controls in Japan. GDF-15 and FGF-21 concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay and compared with lactate, pyruvate, creatine kinase, and the lactate-to-pyruvate ratio. We calculated sensitivity and specificity and also evaluated the correlation based on two rating scales, including the Newcastle Mitochondrial Disease Rating Scale (NMDAS).
resultsMean GDF-15 concentration was 6-fold higher in MD patients compared to healthy controls (2,711 ± 2,459 pg/ml vs 462.5 ± 141.0 pg/mL; p < 0.001). Using a receiver operating characteristic curve, the area under the curve was significantly higher for GDF-15 than FGF-21 and other conventional biomarkers. Our date suggest that GDF-15 is the most useful biomarker for MDs of the biomarkers examined, and it is associated with MD severity.
interpretationOur results suggest that measurement of GDF-15 is the most useful first-line test to indicate the patients who have the mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiency.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.