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Research Paper|Volume 11, Issue 6|pp 1733—1744

Circulating GDF11 levels are decreased with age but are unchanged with obesity and type 2 diabetes

Juan Añón-Hidalgo1, Victoria Catalán1,2,3, Amaia Rodríguez1,2,3, Beatriz Ramírez1,2,3, Camilo Silva2,3,4, Juan C. Galofré4, Javier Salvador2,4, Gema Frühbeck1,2,3,4, Javier Gómez-Ambrosi1,2,3
  • 1Metabolic Research Laboratory, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
  • 2CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Pamplona, Spain
  • 3Obesity and Adipobiology Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain
  • 4Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Received: December 30, 2018Accepted: March 6, 2019Published: March 21, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101865

Copyright: © 2019 Añón-Hidalgo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) is a member of the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily which declines with age and exerts anti-aging regenerative effects in skeletal muscle in mice. However, recent data in humans and mice are conflicting casting doubts about its true functional actions. The aim of the present study was to compare the circulating concentrations of GDF11 in individuals of different ages as well as body weight and glycemic status. Serum concentrations of GDF11 were measured by ELISA in 319 subjects. There was a significant increase in GDF11 concentrations in people in the 41-50 y group and a decline in the elder groups (61-70 and 71-80 y groups, P=0.008 for the comparison between all age groups). However, no significant correlation between fat-free mass index (FFMI), a formula used to estimate the amount of muscle mass in relation to height, and logGDF11 was observed (r=0.08, P=0.197). Moreover, no significant differences in circulating concentrations of GDF11 regarding obesity or glycemic status were found. Serum GDF11 concentrations in humans decrease in older ages being unaltered in obesity and T2D. Further studies should determine the exact pathophysiological role of GDF11 in aging.