Cited by 948Cardiac Fibrosis and RemodelingCongenital heart defects researchTGF-β signaling in diseases

Growth Differentiation Factor 11 Is a Circulating Factor that Reverses Age-Related Cardiac Hypertrophy

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Loffredo, Francesco S., Steinhauser, Matthew L., Jay, Steven M., Gannon, Joseph, Pancoast, James R., Yalamanchi, Pratyusha, Sinha, Manisha, Dall’Osso, Claudia +12 more·2013·Cell

Abstract

The most common form of heart failure occurs with normal systolic function and often involves cardiac hypertrophy in the elderly. To clarify the biological mechanisms that drive cardiac hypertrophy in aging, we tested the influence of circulating factors using heterochronic parabiosis, a surgical technique in which joining of animals of different ages leads to a shared circulation. After 4 weeks of exposure to the circulation of young mice, cardiac hypertrophy in old mice dramatically regressed, accompanied by reduced cardiomyocyte size and molecular remodeling. Reversal of age-related hypertrophy was not attributable to hemodynamic or behavioral effects of parabiosis, implicating a blood-borne factor. Using modified aptamer-based proteomics, we identified the TGF-β superfamily member GDF11 as a circulating factor in young mice that declines with age. Treatment of old mice to restore GDF11 to youthful levels recapitulated the effects of parabiosis and reversed age-related hypertrophy, revealing a therapeutic opportunity for cardiac aging.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.cell.2013.04.015

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  • One study examined monomeric GDF11 and myostatin and found that their serum levels decrease cumulatively with aging.

    “The first study42 focused on the monomeric forms of GDF11 and myostatin and showed that they cumulatively decrease in abundance in serum with aging42,44.”
  • Part of the rejuvenation from a young systemic environment seems tied to higher circulating GDF11 and oxytocin in young versus old blood.

    “Intriguingly, at least part of the ‘rejuvenating’ effect of a young systemic environment appears related to the higher levels of circulating growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and oxytocin present in young blood as compared to aged38,166,168,169.”
  • Studies on heterochronic parabiosis and plasma exchange in animals have demonstrated that circulating proteins can have a causal influence on ageing phenotypes across the body, including in skeletal muscle, heart and brain.

    “Studies on heterochronic parabiosis and plasma exchange in animals have demonstrated that circulating proteins can have a causal influence on ageing phenotypes across the body, including in skeletal muscle107,108, heart109 and brain15,110–112.”

    From Measuring biological age using omics data (2022) · cites this paper as [109]

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Authors
Loffredo, F. S., Steinhauser, M. L., Jay, S. M., Gannon, J., Pancoast, J. R., Yalamanchi, P., Sinha, M., Dall’Osso, C., Khong, D., Shadrach, J. L., Miller, C. M., Singer, B. S., Stewart, A., Psychogios, N., Gerszten, R. E., Hartigan, A. J., Kim, M.-J., Serwold, T., Wagers, A. J., & Lee, R. T.
Affiliations
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • SomaLogic (United States) (US)
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
  • Wagers, Amy J.
  • Lee, Richard T.
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-05
Volume
153
Issue
4
Pages
828-839
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2156589853
Cited by
948
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 69 · 2020: 87 · 2019: 70 · 2018: 86 · 2017: 91 · 2016: 94 · 2015: 84 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 1
FWCI
59.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • American Heart Association
  • National Institutes of Health (1dp2od004345-01)
  • Harvard Stem Cell Institute
  • National Institute on Aging (R01AG033053, R01AG032977, R01AG040019)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U01HL100402, K99HL112905, R00HL112905)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K08DK090147, P30DK036836)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Fibrosis and Remodeling
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Congenital heart defects research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › TGF-β signaling in diseases
Keywords
GDF11, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac aging, heterochronic parabiosis, circulating factors, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, cardiomyocyte size, TGF-beta superfamily, aptamer-based proteomics, regenerative therapy
MeSH terms
Aging, Animals, Blood Pressure, Female, Cardiomegaly, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Parabiosis, Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular, Bone Morphogenetic Proteins, Myocytes, Cardiac, Mice, Forkhead Transcription Factors, Growth Differentiation Factors, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

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