GDF15: Synthesis

GDF15/MIC-1 is a product of macrophage activation, suggesting that it may be involved in chronic inflammatory processes (-). GDF15 is a stress-responsive member of the TGF-β superfamily and initially described as macrophage inhibitory cytokine (-). Although GDF15 has been described in many solid tumors for almost 10 years, the nature of its receptor is still unknown. There is some evidence of Smad signaling pathway activation, suggesting GDF15 may act through TGF-β receptor superfamily pathways (-). The TGFβ family belongs to a group of cytokines with pleiotropic functions (-). This family has 33 members, including growth differentiation factors (GDFs) and TGFβ. They are involved in the regulation of various biological functions such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis in many different cell types (-).
Several studies reported that GDF15 induction is associated with apoptosis and cell cycle arrest (-). Hence, GDF15 may be an excellent in vivo biomarker of the activation of p53 pathway