GDF-15 as a biomarker in atrial arrhythmia ablation

Brandenburg an der Havel, 13 March 2026

Over one million people in Germany are affected by cardiac arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. The incidence climbs with increasing age and raises the risk of further diseases like stroke.

Today, many arrhythmias can be treated with minimum invasion by ablation, i.e. destruction or isolation of diseased cardiac tissue.

It remains unclear, however, why arrhythmia recurs despite successful ablation in approximately 10 to 30 % of patients, particularly those with a high Body Mass Index (BMI).

The German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) and the Center for Translational Medicine (ZTM-BB – Cardiovascular Molecular Biology) at the Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (MHB) started a joint research project to see whether biomolecules circulating in the blood may have an impact on treatment success.

Johanna Tennigkeit (MHB) and Gregor Sachse (MHB) in collaboration with Maximilian Kleinert (DIfE) have published preliminary results in the journal JCI Insight: https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.198444) („Plasma GDF-15 concentration predicts early recurrence after atrial arrhythmia ablation“).

From a total of more than twenty candidate molecules they identified the plasma protein GDF-15, the blood concentration of which prior to surgery can predict with the highest precision whether arrhythmia will recur within 24 hours after ablation. Moreover, in-depth statistical analyses revealed that the predictive quality of GDF-15 does not depend on age, gender, BMI and classical disease markers (HbA1c, NT-proBNP).

GDF-15 is primarily known for its role in regulating appetite and energy metabolism. Taken together with other preliminary studies on GDF-15 in the heart, the findings of Tennigkeit et al. suggest an influence on the activation of the immune system.

Maximilian Kleinert and the MHB team are now planning to explore the possible influence of GDF-15 on the response of immune cells of the heart to the ablation procedure and thus on the 24-hour recurrence rate.

Main contributors to the publication: Johanna Tennigkeit, Gregor Sachse und Oliver Ritter from Cardiology (MHB), Chiara Massa and Barbara Seliger from Translational Immunology (MHB) and Maximilian Kleinert from the DIfE Department of Molecular Physiology of Physical Activity and Nutrition (MPEN).

For further information and contact see: Brandenburg Health Sciences: Research Atlas