Elevated levels of GDF-15 is associated with increased angiotensin II in hypertensive patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Aim: Circulatory GDF-15, angiotensin II (Ang-II) and GDF-15 mRNA expression levels were examined in three groups, in other words, control (n = 25), Type 2 diabetes (T2DM; n = 25) and Type 2 diabetes with hypertension (T2DM_HTN; n = 36).

Results: T2DM and T2DM_HTN subjects had significantly (p < 0.05) higher GDF-15 and Ang-II levels compared with control subjects. Significant positive correlation was found between Ang-II and GDF-15 levels. GDF-15 mRNA expression from blood cells was significantly elevated in T2DM_HTN (p < 0.05) but not in T2DM subjects. GDF-15 mRNA expression was significantly elevated in Ang-II-treated (50 nM) THP-1 (p < 0.001) and H9C2 (p < 0.05) cells but not altered after high glucose treatment.

Conclusion: Collectively, our data suggest that higher levels of GDF-15 is associated with increased Ang-II levels in diabetic patients with concurrent hypertension.