Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41540266›Full record

ArticleNature immunology2026

A GDF-15-GFRAL axis controls autoimmune T cell responses during neuroinflammation.

Jana K Sonner, Audrey Kahn, Lars Binkle-Ladisch, Jan Broder Engler, Beatrice Haack, Christina Zeiler, Lisa Unger, Simone Bauer, Felix Fischbach, Giovanni Almanzar and 22 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The causes of cachexia: key signals and the brain.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Jana K SonnerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4700-272X
Audrey KahnInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Lars Binkle-LadischInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6168-3210
Jan Broder EnglerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3169-2076
Beatrice HaackExperimental Tumor Immunology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Christina ZeilerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Lisa UngerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Simone BauerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Felix FischbachInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Giovanni AlmanzarDepartment of Pediatrics, Pediatric Rheumatology/Special Immunology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Mark WalkenhorstInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Christina MayerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Aneta KolakowskaInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Sebastian GrauteDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-1007-6298
Caren RamienInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3949-1359
Ingo WinschelInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9487-7070
Nicola RothammerInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Markus HeineDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Verena Horneffer-van der SluisInstitute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Vincent ThiemannExperimental Tumor Immunology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Vanessa VieiraInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Nina MeursInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5366-0123
Thomas RennéInstitute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Martina PrelogDepartment of Pediatrics, Pediatric Rheumatology/Special Immunology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Sebastian Beck JørgensenBio Innovation Hub Transformational Research Unit, Novo Nordisk, Boston, MA, USA.
Randy J SeeleyDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3721-5625
Anke DiemertDepartment of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Petra C ArckHamburg Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2932-926X
Stefan M GoldInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Joerg HeerenDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5647-1034
Jörg WischhusenExperimental Tumor Immunology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Manuel A FrieseInstitute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. manuel.friese@zmnh.uni-hamburg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6380-2420

Funding

Regional Pilot And Feasibility Study Grants ProgramP30DK020572 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI DAVID P OLSON · 2013 to 2026
$24.3M
Pilot and Feasibility (P and F) ProgramP30DK089503 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Karen Eileen Peterson · 2010 to 2026
$20.3M
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) 01KT2310Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 255154572, 534829736Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 255154572, 534829736, 405358801Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 523862973Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 534829736European Commission (EC) ERA-NET - JTC 2021, iParaCytsGemeinnützige Hertie-Stiftung (Hertie Foundation) P1200009NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK020572NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK089503
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Inflammatory activity during multiple sclerosis (MS) often improves during pregnancy, suggesting that pregnancy-related immune adaptations affect the disease. Here we show that growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) increases during pregnancy and correlates with a reduced rate of MS relapses. GDF-15 also accumulates in the inflamed central nervous system, and its absence impairs inflammation resolution in a mouse model of MS. GDF-15 suppresses autoimmune T cell responses through an indirect signaling pathway involving the activation of GDNF family receptor α-like (GFRAL) on brainstem neurons. Therapeutic approaches, including neuronal gene delivery, recombinant GDF-15 administration and targeted chemogenetic activation of GFRAL-positive neurons induce β-adrenergic signaling and norepinephrine synthesis in the spleen, leading to decreased expression of integrins on T cells required for transmigration across the blood-brain barrier and confer protection against neuroinflammation in preclinical models of MS. These findings position GDF-15 as a crucial neuroimmune mediator and the GDF-15-GFRAL axis as promising target for MS.

Indexed as

Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, ExperimentalGlial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ReceptorsGrowth Differentiation Factor 15Multiple SclerosisT-LymphocytesAnimalsAutoimmunityDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHumansMiceNeuronsPregnancySignal TransductionGlial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ReceptorsGrowth Differentiation Factor 15

Identifiers

PMID41540266
PMCPMC12956584

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.