ArticlePloS one2021
Growth differentiation factor 15 increases in both cerebrospinal fluid and serum during pregnancy.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Individualized Step Targets on Physical Activity in COPD. A Randomized Study.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Trial
- Growth differentiation factor 15: from stress response to clinical utility in chronic liver diseases.Journal of gastroenterology · 2026Review
- Pleiotropic effects of GDF-15 to regulate nutritional status: perspectives from body composition to nutrition-related disorders.British journal of biomedical science · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial health, prenatal distress, and gestational age: investigation of cf-mtDNA and GDF15 in two pregnancy studies from the USA and Turkey.Mitochondrion · 2025Article
- Growth Differentiation Factor 15 Induces Gastric Fundus Contraction Involving Cholinergic Excitation: Morphofunctional Evidence in Rodent Models.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2025Article
- Molecular pathways in placental-fetal development and disruption.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2024Review
- Global Transcriptomic Analysis of Placentas from Women with Gestational SARS-CoV-2 Infection during the Third Trimester of Pregnancy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- Growth differentiation factor‑15 in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus and its relationship with microalbuminuria.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2023Article
- GDF15 Promotes the Osteogenic Cell Fate of Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts, thus Affecting Their Mechanobiological Response.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Growth Differentiation Factor-15 Predicts Mortality and Heart Failure Exacerbation But Not Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Cardiomyopathy.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2023Observational
- NRF2 Serves a Critical Role in Regulation of Immune Checkpoint Proteins (ICPs) During Trophoblast Differentiation.Endocrinology · 2022Article
- GDF15 Is an Eribulin Response Biomarker also Required for Survival of DTP Breast Cancer Cells.Cancers · 2022Article
- Serum and urine profiles of TGF-β superfamily members in reproductive aged women.Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry · 2022Article
- The Role of GDF15 as a Myomitokine.Cells · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimGrowth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) increases in serum during pregnancy to levels not seen in any other physiological state and is suggested to be involved in pregnancy-induced nausea, weight regulation and glucose metabolism. The main action of GDF15 is regulated through a receptor of the brainstem, i.e., through exposure of GDF15 in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The aim of the current study was to measure GDF15 in both CSF and serum during pregnancy, and to compare it longitudinally to non-pregnant levels.
methodsWomen were sampled at elective caesarean section (n = 45, BMI = 28.1±5.0) and were followed up 5 years after pregnancy (n = 25). GDF15, insulin and leptin were measured in CSF and serum. Additional measurements included plasma glucose, and serum adiponectin and Hs-CRP.
resultsGDF15 levels were higher during pregnancy compared with follow-up in both CSF (385±128 vs. 115±32 ng/l, P<0.001) and serum (73789±29198 vs. 404±102 ng/l, P<0.001). CSF levels correlated with serum levels during pregnancy (P<0.001), but not in the non-pregnant state (P = 0.98). Both CSF and serum GDF15 were highest in women carrying a female fetus (P<0.001). Serum GDF15 correlated with the homeostatic model assessment for beta-cell function and placental weight, and CSF GDF15 correlated inversely with CSF insulin levels.
conclusionThis, the first study to measure CSF GDF15 during pregnancy, demonstrated increased GDF15 levels in both serum and CSF during pregnancy. The results suggest that effects of GDF15 during pregnancy can be mediated by increases in both CSF and serum levels.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.