2. Academic Validation
  3. TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 is a physiological appetite and body weight regulator

TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 is a physiological appetite and body weight regulator

  • PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e55174. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055174.
Vicky Wang-Wei Tsai 1,  Laurence Macia,  Heiko Johnen,  Tamara Kuffner,  Rakesh Manadhar,  Sebastian Beck Jørgensen,  Ka Ki Michelle Lee-Ng,  Hong Ping Zhang,  Liyun Wu,  Christopher Peter Marquis,  Lele Jiang,  Yasmin Husaini,  Shu Lin,  Herbert Herzog,  David A Brown,  Amanda Sainsbury,  Samuel N Breit
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital and University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
PMID: 23468844 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055174
Abstract

The TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 circulates in all humans and when overproduced in Cancer leads to anorexia/cachexia, by direct action on brain feeding centres. In these studies we have examined the role of physiologically relevant levels of MIC-1/GDF15 in the regulation of appetite, body weight and basal metabolic rate. MIC-1/GDF15 gene knockout mice (MIC-1(-/-)) weighed more and had increased adiposity, which was associated with increased spontaneous food intake. Female MIC-1(-/-) mice exhibited some additional alterations in reduced basal energy expenditure and physical activity, possibly owing to the associated decrease in total lean mass. Further, infusion of human recombinant MIC-1/GDF15 sufficient to raise serum levels in MIC-1(-/-) mice to within the normal human range reduced body weight and food intake. Taken together, our findings suggest that MIC-1/GDF15 is involved in the physiological regulation of appetite and energy storage.

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