Integrated analyses of growth differentiation Factor-15 concentration and cardiometabolic diseases in humans
- University of Helsinki, Finland
- AstraZeneca, United Kingdom
- University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Hannover Medical School, Germany
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
- Imperial College London, United Kingdom
- National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Finland
- AstraZeneca, Sweden
Abstract
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a stress response cytokine that is elevated in several cardiometabolic diseases and has attracted interest as a potential therapeutic target. To further explore the association of GDF15 with human disease, we conducted a broad study into the phenotypic and genetic correlates of GDF15 concentration in up to 14,099 individuals. Assessment of 772 traits across 6,610 participants in FINRISK identified associations of GDF15 concentration with a range of phenotypes including all-cause mortality, cardiometabolic disease, respiratory diseases and psychiatric disorders as well as inflammatory markers. A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of GDF15 concentration across 3 different assay platforms (n=14,099) confirmed significant heterogeneity due to a common missense variant rs1058587 in GDF15, potentially due to epitope-binding artefacts. After conditioning on rs1058587, statistical fine-mapping identified 4 independent putative causal signals at the locus. Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis found evidence of a causal relationship between GDF15 concentration and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) but not body mass index (BMI). Using reverse MR, we identified a potential causal association of BMI on GDF15 (IVW pFDR=0.0040). Taken together, our data do not support a role for elevated GDF15 concentrations as a causal factor in human cardiometabolic disease but support its role as a biomarker of metabolic stress.
Data availability
Participant-level genotype and phenotype data from UK Biobank are available by application: https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/apply-for-access.Participant-level genotype and phenotype data (as part of the FinnGen consortium) are available by application: https://www.finngen.fi/en/access_results.INTERVAL-SomaScan participant-level genotype and protein data, and full summary association results from the genetic analysis are available through the European Genotype Archive (accession number EGA00001002555). Summary association results are also publically available at http://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/ceu/proteins/, through PhenoScanner (http://www.phenoscanner.medschl.cam.ac.uk) and from the NHGRI-EBI GWAS Catalog (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/downloads/summary-statistics).INTERVAL-Olink summary association results are publically available at http://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/ceu/proteins/.
Article and author information
Author details
Eleanor May Wigmore
James Edward Peters
Funding
NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014)
- Rachel MY Ong
Sydäntutkimussäätiö
- Veikko Salomaa
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Edward D Janus, University of Melbourne, Australia
Ethics
Human subjects: FINRISK study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District.Informed consent was obtained from all participants and the INTERVAL study was approved by the National Research Ethics Service (11/EE/0538).All study participants provided informed consent and the UK Biobank has approval from the North-West Multi-centre Research Ethics Committee (MREC; 11/NW/0382).
Version history
- Received: December 10, 2021
- Preprint posted: December 16, 2021 (view preprint)
- Accepted: August 1, 2022
- Accepted Manuscript published: August 2, 2022 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: August 19, 2022 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2022, Lemmelä et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Integrated analyses of growth differentiation Factor-15 concentration and cardiometabolic diseases in humans
eLife 11:e76272.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.76272
Further reading
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- Epidemiology and Global Health
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Background: Few national-level studies have evaluated the impact of 'hybrid' immunity (vaccination coupled with recovery from infection) from the Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: From May 2020 to December 2022, we conducted serial assessments (each of ~4000-9000 adults) examining SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within a mostly representative Canadian cohort drawn from a national online polling platform. Adults, most of whom were vaccinated, reported viral test-confirmed infections and mailed self-collected dried blood spots to a central lab. Samples underwent highly sensitive and specific antibody assays to spike and nucleocapsid protein antigens, the latter triggered only by infection. We estimated cumulative SARS-CoV-2 incidence prior to the Omicron period and during the BA.1/1.1 and BA.2/5 waves. We assessed changes in antibody levels and in age-specific active immunity levels.
Results: Spike levels were higher in infected than in uninfected adults, regardless of vaccination doses. Among adults vaccinated at least thrice and infected more than six months earlier, spike levels fell notably and continuously for the nine months post-vaccination. By contrast, among adults infected within six months, spike levels declined gradually. Declines were similar by sex, age group, and ethnicity. Recent vaccination attenuated declines in spike levels from older infections. In a convenience sample, spike antibody and cellular responses were correlated. Near the end of 2022, about 35% of adults above age 60 had their last vaccine dose more than six months ago, and about 25% remained uninfected. The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection rose from 13% (95% CI 11-14%) before omicron to 78% (76-80%) by December 2022, equating to 25 million infected adults cumulatively. However, the COVID-19 weekly death rate during the BA.2/5 waves was less than half of that during the BA.1/1.1 wave, implying a protective role for hybrid immunity.
Conclusions: Strategies to maintain population-level hybrid immunity require up-to-date vaccination coverage, including among those recovering from infection. Population-based, self-collected dried blood spots are a practicable biological surveillance platform.
Funding: Funding was provided by the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Pfizer Global Medical Grants, and St. Michael's Hospital Foundation. PJ and ACG are funded by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
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