Late Breaking Abstract - Elevated growth differentiation factor 15 in serum correlated with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

Objective: Transforming growth factor-β (TGF--β) super-family members are involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a member of this family and associated with fibrosis. We undertook this study to evaluate the serum level of GDF-15 in acute exacerbation (AE) of IPF. Methods: This cohort study included 36 healthy controls, 48 AE-IPF patients and 70 stable IPF (S-IPF) cases. The serum levels of GDF-15 and Leptin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum GDF-15 and Leptin levels were compared between AE-IPF and S-IPF subjects, male and female cases. Simple correlation was used to assess associations between GDF-15 and Leptin. Results: In subjects with AE-IPF, serum GDF15 was significantly greater than in subjects with S-IPF cases (P=0.03) or healthy controls (P Conclusion: In our published study, we found Leptin may be a promising biomarker for AE occurrence and survival in IPF patients. Serum GDF15 is elevated in acute exacerbation of IPF and may be involved in the specific stage of the pathogenesis in AE-IPF.