Figure 8.
Schematic representation of GDF15 expression in healthy or AD neurons. In healthy aging, functional mitochondria are associated with a low level of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, and of the mature form of GDF15 (m-GDF15), and no stress response is activated; in AD neurons an impairment of OXPHOS subunits expression is associated to mitochondrial dysfunction leading to a stress response that is associated to an increase of IL-6 and m-GDF15 protein expression. The elevated level of m-GDF15 in AD brains could be interpreted as a part of a stress response aimed at counteracting inflammation and mitochondrial stress.