Growth differentiation factor 15

Growth Differentiation Factor 15 or GDF15 is a cytokine and circulating protein produced in the body in response to different stressors. Circulating GDF15 levels are known to be highly elevated in mitochondrial disorders, which have early skeletal muscle fatigue as a key symptom.

ME/CFS
Melvin et al. (2019) investigated where GDF15 could act as a potential biomarker of cellular stress in ME/CFS patients, finding that GDF15 levels were positively correlated with fatigue levels in ME/CFS patients. The same study, which compared GDF15 levels in 50 patients with severe ME/CFS and 100 patients with mild/moderate ME/CFS, also found higher GDF15 levels in patients with ME/CFS than in patients with multiple sclerosis or healthy controls, with the more severely ill ME/CFS patients having the highest levels.