Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a member of the TGF-β cytokine superfamily that is widely expressed and may be induced in response to tissue injury. Elevations in GDF-15 may identify a novel pathway involved in loss of kidney function among patients with CKD. Among participants in the Clinical Phenotyping and Resource Biobank (C-PROBE) study and the Seattle Kidney Study (SKS), we tested whether kidney tissue expression of GDF15 mRNA correlates with circulating levels of GDF-15 and whether elevations in circulating GDF-15 are associated with decline in kidney function. In matching samples of 24 patients with CKD from the C-PROBE study, circulating GDF-15 levels significantly correlated with intrarenal GDF15 transcript levels (r=0.54, P=0.01). Among the 224 C-PROBE and 297 SKS participants, 72 (32.1%) and 94 (32.0%) patients, respectively, reached a composite end point of 30% decline in eGFR or progression to ESRD over a median of 1.8 and 2.0 years of follow up, respectively. In ...

Patel, M S and Lee, J and Baz, M and Wells, C E and Bloch, S and Lewis, A and Donaldson, A V and Garfield, B E and Hopkinson, N S and Natanek, A and Man, W D C and Wells, D J and Baker, E H and Polkey, M I and Kemp, P R (2016) Growth differentiation factor-15 is associated with muscle mass in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and promotes muscle wasting in vivo. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 7 (4). pp. 436-448. ...

Expansion of the mouse cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) is dependent on oocyte-secreted paracrine factors. Transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) superfamily molecules are prime candidates for the cumulus expansion-enabling factors (CEEFs), and we have recently determined that growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) alone is not the CEEF. The aim of this study was to examine oocyte paracrine factors and their signaling pathways that regulate mouse cumulus expansion. Using RT-PCR, oocytes were found to express the two activin subunits, Inhba and Inhbb, and activin A and activin B both enabled FSH-induced cumulus expansion of oocytectomized (OOX) complexes. Follistatin, an activin-binding protein, neutralized activin-induced expansion but had no effect on oocyte-induced expansion. The type I receptors for GDF9 and activin are activin receptor-like kinase 5 (ALK5) and ALK4, respectively, both of which activate the same SMAD 2/3 signaling pathway. We examined the requirement for this signaling system ...

Background: Growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15, a stress responsive cytokine, is associated with the risk of CV events after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Unlike other established cardiac biomarkers, the level of GDF-15 remains elevated in sub-acute phase after ACS and gradually decreases over time. We evaluated the prognostic utility of GDF-15 in patients after ACS accounting for established markers and risk predictors.. Methods: GDF-15 (R&D Systems) and other established cardiac biomarkers (BNP, hsCRP and hsTnI) were measured at baseline in a randomly selected cohort of 4,968 patients enrolled within 30 days of hospitalization with ACS (median=14d) in SOLID-TIMI 52. Previously defined cutpoints were applied for GDF-15 concentration: ,1200 (n=3451), 1200-1800 (n=919), and , 1800 ng/L (n=598). Analyses were adjusted for established risk predictors, days from the ACS event and other markers. MACE was defined as CV death, MI or stroke. Median follow-up was 2.5 years.. Results: Patients ...

Aims: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is induced during heart failure development, and may influence different processes in cardiac remodeling. While its anti-apoptotic action under conditions of ischemia-reperfusion have been shown, it remained unclear if this is a broadly protective effect applicable to other apoptotic stimuli. Furthermore, effects on cardiac hypertrophy remained obscure. Therefore, in the present study we investigated the effects of GDF15 on induction of hypertrophy and apoptosis in ventricular cardiomyocytes.. Methods and Results: Dose-response analysis of SMAD-binding affinity under stimulation with GDF15 revealed a maximal activation of SMADs, as the classical transcription factors in GDF15 signaling, by addition of 3 ng/ml GDF15 to cardiomyocytes. Under these conditions enhancement of SMAD1,5,8 phosphorylation, as another parameter of SMAD activation, was seen. At the same concentration, GDF15 enhanced hypertrophic growth as determined by an increase in cell size ...

Growth differentiation factors (GDFs) are a subfamily of proteins belonging to the transforming growth factor beta superfamily that have functions predominantly in development. Several members of this subfamily have been described, and named GDF1 through GDF15. GDF1 is expressed chiefly in the nervous system and functions in left-right patterning and mesoderm induction during embryonic development. GDF2 (also known as BMP9) induces and maintains the response embryonic basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCN) have to a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, and regulates iron metabolism by increasing levels of a protein called hepcidin. GDF3 is also known as Vg-related gene 2 (Vgr-2). Expression of GDF3 occurs in ossifying bone during embryonic development and in the thymus, spleen, bone marrow brain, and adipose tissue of adults. It has a dual nature of function; it both inhibits and induces early stages of development in embryos. GDF5 is expressed in the developing central nervous system, ...

Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a secreted protein with pleotropic functions from the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family. GDF15 is synthesized as a precursor and undergoes proteolytic cleavage to generate mature GDF15. The strong appetite-suppressing effect of mature GDF15 makes it an attractive therapeutic agent/target for diseases such as obesity and cachexia. In addition, clinical studies indicate that circulating, mature GDF15 is an independent biomarker for heart failure. We recently found that GDF15 functions as a heart-derived hormone that inhibits liver growth hormone signaling and postnatal body growth in the pediatric period. However, little is known about the mechanism of GDF15 maturation, in particular the enzymes that mediate GDF15 precursor cleavage. We investigated which candidate proteases can cleave GDF15 precursor and generate mature GDF15 in cardiomyocytes in vitro and mouse hearts in vivo. We discovered that three members of the proprotein convertase, ...

Objective-The assembly of a functional vascular system requires a coordinated and dynamic transition from activation to maturation. High vascular endothelial growth factor activity promotes activation, including junction destabilization and cell motility. Maturation involves junctional stabilization and formation of a functional endothelial barrier. The identity and mechanism of action of prostabilization signals are still mostly unknown. Bone morphogenetic protein receptors and their ligands have important functions during embryonic vessel assembly and maturation. Previous work has suggested a role for growth differentiation factor 6 (GDF6; bone morphogenetic protein 13) in vascular integrity although GDF6s mechanism of action was not clear. Therefore, we sought to further explore the requirement for GDF6 in vascular stabilization. ...

Myostatin, human recombinant protein, GDF-8, MSTN, Growth Differentiation Factor 8, MSTN Muscle Hypertrophy validated in (PBV10333r-10), Abcepta

Background- An invasive treatment strategy improves outcomein patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromeat moderate to high risk. We hypothesized that the circulatinglevel of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) may improverisk stratification.. Methods and Results- The Fast Revascularization duringInStability in Coronary artery disease II (FRISC-II) trial randomizedpatients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrometo an invasive or conservative strategy with a follow-up for2 years. GDF-15 and other biomarkers were determined on admissionin 2079 patients. GDF-15 was moderately elevated (between 1200and 1800 ng/L) in 770 patients (37.0%), and highly elevated(,1800 ng/L) in 493 patients (23.7%). Elevated levels ofGDF-15 independently predicted the risk of the composite endpoint of death or recurrent myocardial infarction in the conservativegroup (P=0.016) but not in the invasive group. A significantinteraction existed between the GDF-15 level on admission andthe effect of ...

Description: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on the Double-antibody Sandwich method for detection of Human Growth Differentiation Factor 9 (GDF9) in samples from serum, plasma, tissue homogenates, cell lysates, cell culture supernates and other biological fluids with no significant corss-reactivity with analogues from other species ...

Background: Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a marker of inflammation, oxidative stress and it is associated with adverse prognosis in cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present cohort study is to investigate the prognostic value of GDF-15 in patients with coro...

BioVendor - BioVendor Research and Diagnostic Products is a developer and manufacturer of immunoassays, recombinant proteins, antibodies and endotoxin-removal products.

Complete data from 428 patients and all variables from the simple model were included in the multiple model. NT-proBNP, creatinine, uric acid, and GDF-15 were not normally distributed and were therefore transformed to their natural logarithms. HRs refer to an increase of 1 U in the Ln scale in these variables.. CI = confidence interval; Hb = hemoglobin; HR = hazard ratio; Ln = natural logarithm; other abbreviations as in Table 1.. ...

JACC Heart Fail. 2017 Oct;5(10):724-734. doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2017.07.013. Sharma A, Stevens SR, Lucas J, Fiuzat M, Adams KF, Whellan DJ ...

Growth/differentiation factor 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GDF5 gene. The protein encoded by this gene is closely related to the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family and is a member of the TGF-beta superfamily. This group of proteins is characterized by a polybasic proteolytic processing site which is cleaved to produce a mature protein containing seven conserved cysteine residues. The members of this family are regulators of cell growth and differentiation in both embryonic and adult tissues. Mutations in this gene are associated with acromesomelic dysplasia, Hunter-Thompson type; brachydactyly, type C; and chondrodysplasia, Grebe type. These associations confirm that the gene product plays a role in skeletal development. Growth differentiation factor 5 (GDF5) is a protein belonging to the transforming growth factor beta superfamily that is expressed in the developing central nervous system, and has a role in skeletal and joint development. It also increases the survival ...

Background It has been reported that calf oocytes are less developmentally competent than oocytes obtained from adult cows. Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and growth and differentiation factor...

Required for ovarian folliculogenesis. Promotes primordial follicle development. Stimulates granulosa cell proliferation. Promotes cell transition from G0/G1 to S and G2/M phases, through an increase of CCND1 and CCNE1 expression, and RB1 phosphorylation. It regulates STAR expression and cAMP-dependent progesterone release in granulosa and thecal cells. Attenuates the suppressive effects of activin A on STAR expression and progesterone production by increasing the expression of inhibin B. It suppresses FST and FSTL3 production in granulosa-lutein cells.

Results There were 44 patients with CTD-ILD, 28 patients without ILD and 31 healthy controls. The age and gender distributions of participants in all three groups were not different. Serum TGF-β and GDF-15 levels in patients with CTD-ILD and CTD without ILD were significantly higher than healthy controls (respectively, 3.05±0.26, 3.05±0.22, 1.39±0.33 pg/ml, p,0.001 for TGF-β and 1.17±0.17, 1.12±0.05, 0.95±0.21 pg/ml, p,0.001 for GDF-15). There were no statistically different from patients with ILD and without ILD for both TGF-β (p:0.864) and GDF-15 levels (p:0.146) in CTD. Also, GDF-15 and TGF-β levels of patients with systemic sclerosis were not different from other CTDs. ...

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The fact that a mutation in Alk5 had an effect in the Acvr2b‐null background indicates that Alk5 must also be coupling to another type II receptor, most probably Acvr2, to mediate the effects of GDF11 on embryonic development. In support of this idea, mutations in Acvr2 have been shown to augment the phenotypes observed in Acvr2b−/− animals (Oh et al, 2002). Unlike Acvr2b−/− mutants, however, Acvr2−/− animals lack any vertebral patterning defects, indicating that although the Acvr2b−/− strain is genetically sensitized for those phenotypes, the Acvr2−/− strain is not. Together with the absence of effects of ALK4 and ALK7 in axial patterning, the lack of ALK4 and ALK7 expression in relevant patterning structures and the fact that GDF11, similar to TGF‐β, signals through Smad2 and Smad3, our results strongly indicate that GDF11 uses the TGF‐β receptor ALK5 in vivo to control several developmental events. Our study has not addressed the possible participation of other ...

Reagents, Tools and Custom Services for molecular biology, specializing in the fields of Nano-Antibody development (nAb), Cellular Reprogramming (iPSC), Genome Editing, Fluorescent Proteins, RNAi, Viral Packaging and Protein expression.

Reagents, Tools and Custom Services for molecular biology, specializing in the fields of Nano-Antibody development (nAb), Cellular Reprogramming (iPSC), Genome Editing, Fluorescent Proteins, RNAi, Viral Packaging and Protein expression.

INVOLVED IN endoderm development (ortholog); in utero embryonic development (ortholog); mesoderm development (ortholog); ASSOCIATED WITH congenital heart disease (ortholog); dextro-looped transposition of the great arteries (ortholog); dextro-looped transposition of the great arteries 3 (ortholog)

As it is known that the normal tumor microenvironment becomes corrupted during tumor development, which is reflected by appearance of a large and heterogeneous category of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) [28]. CAF cells are considered active modulators of the tumor microenvironment among many solid tumors [29-31]. However, few studies have directly addressed the role of the CAFs in the BM of leukemia. In the present study, we demonstrate that functional CAFs are widespread in the BM of AML patients and could serve as a critical chemo-protective element for AML cells by producing an abundance of GDF15.. As we all know, AML cells interact both anatomically and functionally with the stroma within the BM microenvironment. These interactions have a critical role in the development, progression and relapse of AML. A recent study has suggested discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), a class of collagen-activated receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) was highly upregulated on bone marrow (BM)-derived CD33+ ...

Latest data suggest that placental growth factor (PLGF), growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) and hepatic growth factor (HGF) are involved in hepatic fibrogenesis. Diagnostic performance of these markers for non-invasive liver fibrosis prediction was evaluated based on liver histology and stiff …

J:60755 Rankin CT, Bunton T, Lawler AM, Lee SJ, Regulation of left-right patterning in mice by growth/differentiation factor-1. Nat Genet. 2000 Mar;24(3):262-5 ...

Rationale: GDF11 (Growth Differentiation Factor 11) is a member of the TGFβ super family of secreted factors, which play an important role in the regulation of cell processes including proliferation, differentiation, death, adhesion, and migration. Recently it was shown that circulating GDF11 levels fall with aging and this change is associated with pathological cardiac hypertrophy (PCH). Restoring GDF11 to normal levels was shown to rescue PCH.. Objective: To determine if we can confirm the hypothesis that correcting the levels of a single factor, GDF11, determines aging related PCH.. Methods and Results: We used the study design described by Loffredo et al, 2013. Investigators were blinded to treatment group. 24 month old C57BL/6 male mice were given a daily injection of recombinant GDF11 at 0 .1mg/kg or vehicle for 28 days. GDF11 bioactivity was confirmed in-vitro. After treatment, GDF11 levels were significantly increased but there was no difference in heart weight (HW) to body weight (BW) ...

Complete information for GDF11 gene (Protein Coding), Growth Differentiation Factor 11, including: function, proteins, disorders, pathways, orthologs, and expression. GeneCards - The Human Gene Compendium

GDF10 antibody [N3C3] (growth differentiation factor 10) for ICC/IF, WB. Anti-GDF10 pAb (GTX118039) is tested in Human, Mouse, Rat samples. 100% Ab-Assurance.

GDF15 antibody (growth differentiation factor 15) for IHC-P, WB. Anti-GDF15 pAb (GTX54079) is tested in Human samples. 100% Ab-Assurance.

The PDB archive contains information about experimentally-determined structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and complex assemblies. As a member of the wwPDB, the RCSB PDB curates and annotates PDB data according to agreed upon standards. The RCSB PDB also provides a variety of tools and resources. Users can perform simple and advanced searches based on annotations relating to sequence, structure and function. These molecules are visualized, downloaded, and analyzed by users who range from students to specialized scientists.

Chung H.K., Ryu D., Kim K.S., Chang J.Y., Kim Y.K., Yi H.-S., Kang S.G., Choi M.J., Lee S.E., Jung S.B., Ryu M.J., Kim S.J., Kweon G.R., Kim H., Hwang J.H., Lee C.-H., Lee S.-J., Wall C.E., Downes M., Evans R.M., Auwerx J., Shong M. (2017) Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a myomitokine governing systemic energy homeostasis. J Cell Biol. 216: 149-165. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201607110.. ...

Next-day shipping cDNA ORF clones derived from NODAL nodal growth differentiation factor available at GenScript, starting from $99.00.

During fish oocyte maturation, specific molecules are expressed and accumulated within oocyte until fertilization and embryo development. Special attention have been paid in members of the transforming growth factor (TGF-β) superfamily; growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9/gdf9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15/bmp15), which exert regulatory functions during oocyte maturation and follicle development. However, little attention has been paid to the involvement of these molecules during embryogenesis considering its importance for the formation of a good quality egg and subsequent embryo survival. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression of gdf9 and bmp15 in previtellogenic oocytes and during early embryonic development in Seriola lalandi, a pelagic fish with increasing prospect for its aquaculture development, which however, show high mortality at embryo and larval stages. Through RT-qPCR it was found that gdf9 expression was higher in previtellogenic oocytes decreasing after

Mol Hum Reprod. 2014 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print] Chang HM, Cheng JC, Taylor E, Leung PC. Author information Abstract In the ovary, connexin-coupled gap junctions in granulosa cells play crucial roles in follicular and oocyte development as well as in corpus luteum formation. Our previous work has shown that theca cell-derived bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)4 and BMP7 decrease gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) activity via the down-regulation of connexin43 (Cx43) expression in immortalized human granulosa cells. However, the effects of oocyte-derived growth factors on Cx43 expression remain to be elucidated. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of oocyte-derived growth differentiation factor (GDF)9 and BMP15 on the expression of Cx43 in a human granulosa cell line, SVOG. We also examined the effect relative to GJIC activity and investigated the potential mechanisms of action. In SVOG cells, treatment with BMP15 but not GDF9 significantly decreased Cx43 mRNA ...

Experimental observations that GDF-15 is produced by inflammatory cells involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis led to the hypothesis that this cytokine may be useful in risk stratification of patients with cardiovascular disease.2,6 Subsequent studies3,21,22 demonstrated upregulated GDF-15 expression in cultured rat cardiomyocytes subjected to inflammatory cytokines, oxidative or nitrosative stress, simulated ischemia-reperfusion, or mechanical stretch. Mouse models showed a prolonged increase of GDF-15 expression in the myocardium in response to ischemia and reperfusion or long-term pressure overload.3,23 Retrospective data from the Womens Health Study showed that healthy women with GDF-15 concentrations greater than the 90th percentile (,856 ng/L) had a 2.7-fold higher risk of cardiovascular death, stroke, or MI.6 More recently, it was shown that GDF-15 on presentation in patients with NSTE ACS is an independent predictor of mortality and recurrent MI at 2 years10 and that patients ...

Results The levels of plasma GDF11 in the COPD group were decreased compared with the control groups in the two independent cohorts. The levels of plasma GDF11 were significantly positively correlated with pulmonary function data. The mRNA expression of GDF11 in mesenchymal cells from the COPD group was decreased. Chronic exposure to CSE decreased the production of GDF11. Treatment with GDF11 significantly inhibited CSE-induced cellular senescence and upregulation of inflammatory mediators, partly through Smad2/3 signalling in vitro. Daily GDF11 treatment attenuated cellular senescence and airspace enlargement in an elastase-induced mouse model of emphysema. ...

This gene encodes a member of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family and the TGF-beta superfamily of secreted signaling molecules. It is required for normal formation of some bones and joints in the limbs, skull, and axial skeleton. Mutations in this gene result in colobomata, which are congenital abnormalities in ocular development, and in Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS), which is a congenital disorder of spinal segmentation.

Certain microRNAs (miRs) have important roles in the maintenance of bone development and metabolism, and a variety of miRs are known to be deregulated in diabetes. The present study investigated the role of miR‑203‑3p in the regulation of bone loss by assessing jaw bones of a rat model of type 2 diabetes. The results indicated that miR‑203‑3p inhibited osteogenesis in the jaws of diabetic rats and in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells cultured in high‑glucose medium. A luciferase re-porter assay was used to verify the bioinformatics prediction that miR‑203‑3p targets the 3‑untranslated region of Smad1, which is an important mediator of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)/Smad pathway ...

Myostatin (also known as growth differentiation factor 8, abbreviated GDF-8) is a myokine. A myokine is a protein produced and released by myocytes that acts on the autocrine function of muscle cells to inhibit myogenesis: muscle cell growth and differentiation. In humans it is encoded by the MSTN gene. Myostatin is a secreted growth differentiation factor that is a member of the TGF beta protein family. Myostatin also inhibits Akt, a kinase that causes muscle hypertrophy, in part through the activation of protein synthesis. Further research into myostatin and the myostatin gene may lead to therapies for muscular dystrophy.. *This description is meant for informational purposes only and is publicly available. ...

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Background Elevated serum levels of growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), is an established risk factor for a range of cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to evaluate the predictive value of plasma GDF-15 as a biomarker for secondary cardiovascular events (CVE) in patients with atherosclerosis undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Secondly, we determined whether ... read more plasma GDF-15 was associated with carotid plaque characteristics. Methods Circulating GDF-15 levels were determined by Luminex assay in a cohort of 1056 patients from the Athero-Express biobank. Composite endpoint was defined as major CVE, death and peripheral vascular interventions. Findings were validated in 473 patients from the independent Carotid Plaque Imaging Project biobank. Results GDF-15 levels did not associate with secondary CVE in the total cohort. However, following a significant interaction with sex, it was found to be strongly, independently predictive of secondary CVE in women but not men (quartile 4 ...

Materials. Neonatal Wistar rats were obtained from untimed pregnant females (Simonsen Labs, Gilroy, CA). The animal studies were conducted in accordance with the Policies on the Use of Animals and Humans in Neuroscience Research (1995), and animal protocols were approved by the local animal care committee. A total of 47 rat pups were used. 125I-Na was from PerkinElmer Life Sciences (Boston, MA). GDNF and CT-1 were purchased from Peprotech (Rocky Hill, NJ), tetanus toxin C-fragment (TTC) was from Calbiochem (La Jolla, CA), BDNF was a kind gift from Regeneron (Tarrytown, NY), and growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) was kindly provided by Jens Strelau and Klaus Unsicker (University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany). All electron microscopy (EM) tissue processing reagents were from EM Sciences (Gibbstown, NJ) except for lead citrate (Sigma, St. Louis, MO). DiI was from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). Autoradiographic developer (D19) and fixative (rapid fix) were from Kodak (Rochester, ...

Two papers in this issue focus on the role of growth differentiation factor 3 (GDF3) in early embryonic development. Mammalian GDF3 - which belongs to the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) branch of the TGFβ superfamily - shares considerable amino acid similarity with Xenopus Vg1. By studying the role of GDF3 in early mouse patterning, Chen et al. (see p. 319) have found that Vg1 activity is remarkably well conserved. In Xenopus, Vg1 is essential for early patterning and signals through a Nodal-like pathway (see Development 133, 15-20). Here, the authors report that Gdf3-null mouse mutants resemble mice with absent or reduced Nodal signalling. Moreover, they report that GDF3 can interact with Nodal co-receptors and antagonists. Nodal signalling is crucial for the formation and positioning of the anterior visceral endoderm (AVE), which patterns the anteroposterior axis of the embryo. The researchers found that ∼30% of Gdf3 null mutants have an abnormally formed or positioned AVE, and they ...

Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) are oocyte-specific growth factors with central roles in mammalian reproduction, regulating species-specific fecundity, ovarian follicular somatic cell differentiation and oocyte quality. In the human, GDF9 is produced in a latent form, the mechanism of activation being an open question. Here, we produced a range of recombinant GDF9 and BMP15 variants, examined their in silico and physical interactions, and their effects on ovarian granulosa cells (GC) and oocytes. We found that the potent synergistic actions of GDF9 and BMP15 on GC can be attributed to the formation of a heterodimer, which we have termed cumulin. Structural modelling of cumulin revealed a dimerization interface identical to homodimeric GDF9 and BMP15, indicating likely formation of a stable complex. This was confirmed by generation of recombinant heterodimeric complexes of pro/mature domains (pro-cumulin) and covalent mature domains (cumulin). Both ...

Aims/hypothesis: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine of the transforming growth factor- superfamily. Circulating levels of GDF-15 are associated with hyperglycaemia among people with obesity or diabetes, but longitudinal evidence on the association between GDF-15 levels and diabetes risk is scarce. Our aim was to explore whether circulating levels of GDF-15 at baseline are positively associated with future diabetes incidence in a middle-aged urban population.. Methods: Between 1991 and 1994, baseline fasting plasma GDF-15 levels were measured in 4360 individuals without diabetes (mean age 57.45.96years, 38.6% men) who were participants in the Malmo Diet and Cancer-Cardiovascular Cohort. After a follow-up of 19.05.16years (mean +/- SD), Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used for the study of the relationship between baseline GDF-15 and incident diabetes, with adjustment for established confounders. A sensitivity analysis included further ...

21] The board observes that such a dichotomy arose between, on the one hand, the disclosure in the patent application underlying decision T 1329/04 (lack of the seven cystein residues with their peculiar spacing required for a protein (in that case, GDF-9) to belong to the TGF-beta superfamily - see T 1329/04 [7] - and the lack of functional characterisation of GDF-9 - see ibidem, [9]) and, on the other hand, the teaching in post-published document D4 that GDF-9 was indeed a growth differentiation factor (see T 1329/04 [12]). Hence, the then competent board concluded that there was not enough evidence in the application as filed to make it at least plausible that a solution had been found to the problem alleged to be solved ...

A large family of cell regulatory proteins which are structurally related to TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA. The superfamily is subdivided into at least three related protein families: BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEINS; GROWTH DIFFERENTIATION FACTORS; and TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTORS ...

Heart failure is one of the most debilitating conditions linked to old age, and there are no specific therapies for the most common form of this condition in the elderly. A study published by Cell Press May 9th in the journal Cell reveals that a blood hormone known as growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) declines with age, and old mice injected with this hormone experience a reversal in signs of cardiac aging. The findings shed light on the underlying causes of age-related heart failure and may offer a much-needed strategy for treating this condition in humans.. ...

We are excited to announce some good news coming in from the University of Miami. The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine will examine the Priapus Shot techniques for treating ED.. Read the study details here: Safety and Efficacy of Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma for ED.. According to Thomas A. Masterson M.D., a Miller School fellow in reproductive urology, the trial is a double-blind, randomized study in which 40 of the 80 participants will receive PRP from their own blood, while 40 will receive a placebo.. When platelets are activated, they release many kinds of growth differentiation factors and a few types have been found to facilitate nerve repair and regeneration. Moreover, corporeal dysfunction in ED due to smooth muscle atrophy or other intra-cavernosal pathology can lead to corporo-venous occlusive erectile dysfunction despite a normal arterial inflow. Rejuvenating the Corporeal tissues with PRP, which is well known for its growth and healing factors, is a possible modality ...