Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF-15): A Novel Biomarker Associated with Poorer Respiratory Function in COVID-19

It is essential to find new biomarkers for severity stratification of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is upregulated in pathological conditions that involve inflammation and/or oxidative stress. We determined circulating levels of GDF-15 and correlated them with clinical and laboratory parameters reflecting severity in 84 patients with COVID-19, finding that GDF-15 levels were higher in both patients than in 20 healthy controls and were higher in patients with poorer respiratory function. GDF-15 levels also correlated with interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, ferritin and D-dimer levels and with neutrophilia and lymphopenia. Of all the analysed biomarkers, GDF-15 showed the best area under the receiver operating characteristics curve in identifying patients with poor respiratory function. In conclusion, our data support GDF-15 as a biomarker associated with pulmonary impairment in COVID-19 and so can potentially be useful in stratifying COVID-19 cases by severity.

Automated summary

GDF-15 is upregulated in inflammatory and oxidative stress conditions, and its levels are higher in severe COVID-19 patients, correlating with markers of inflammation and poor respiratory function. GDF-15 shows potential as a biomarker for stratifying COVID-19 cases based on severity.