Evidence mapPaperPMID 41398392Full record

ArticleNature aging2026

GDF3 promotes adipose tissue macrophage-mediated inflammation via altered chromatin accessibility during aging.

In Hwa Jang, Anna Carey, Victor Kruglov, Katie Nguyen, Jeffrey R Misialek, Stephanie H Cholensky, Declan M Smith, Suxia Bai, Timothy Nottoli, David A Bernlohr and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. The immunology behind inflammaging-causes, sources, and mechanisms.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Siah2 regulates lipid uptake in adipose tissue macrophages.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

In Hwa JangBiochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics Graduate Program, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9448-8433
Anna CareyMasonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6735-6077
Victor KruglovMasonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Katie NguyenMasonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Jeffrey R MisialekDivision of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Stephanie H CholenskyMasonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Declan M SmithMasonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-6977-877X
Suxia BaiYale Genome Editing Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Timothy NottoliYale Genome Editing Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2218-5590
David A BernlohrBiochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics Graduate Program, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Pamela L LutseyDivision of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1572-1340
Christina D CamellBiochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics Graduate Program, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. ccamell@umn.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7847-3543

Funding

THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES (ARIC) STUDY - COORDINATING CENTER - TASK AREA B.2 AND B.375N92022D00001 · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2025 to 2025
$3.8M
Role of adipose tissue inflammaging and metabolic dysfunction during sepsisR01AG079913 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2023 to 2025
$1.7M
THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES (ARIC) STUDY - FIELD CENTER - TASK ORDER 01, TASK AREA A75N92022D00005 · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2025 to 2025
$1.5M
THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES (ARIC) STUDY - FIELD CENTER - TASK ORDER 01, TASK AREA A75N92022D00003 · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2025 to 2025
$1.5M
THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES (ARIC) STUDY - FIELD CENTER - TASK ORDER 01, TASK AREA A75N92022D00004 · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2025 to 2025
$1.4M
THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES (ARIC) STUDY - FIELD CENTER - TASK ORDER 01, TASK AREA A75N92022D00002 · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2025 to 2025
$1.4M
Mechanisms of adipose tissue functional decline with aging.F99AG095479 · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2025 to 2025
$37k
NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92022D00001NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92022D00002NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92022D00003NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92022D00004NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92022D00005NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL134320NIA NIH HHS F99 AG095479NIA NIH HHS R00 AG058800NIA NIH HHS R01 AG069819NIA NIH HHS R01 AG079913
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aging is characterized by amplified inflammation, including proinflammatory macrophages and increased susceptibility to endotoxemia. Here we uncover a mechanism by which macrophages maintain their inflammatory phenotype through autocrine GDF3-SMAD2/3 signaling, which ultimately exacerbates endotoxemia. We show that inflammatory adipose tissue macrophages display an age-dependent increase in GDF3, a TGFβ-family cytokine. Lifelong systemic or myeloid-specific Gdf3 deletion leads to reduced endotoxic inflammation. Using pharmacological interventions to modulate the GDF3-SMAD2/3 axis, we demonstrate its role in regulating the inflammatory adipose tissue macrophage phenotype and endotoxemia lethality in old mice. Mechanistically, single-cell RNA sequencing and assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing analyses suggest that GDF3 induces a shift toward an inflammatory state by limiting methylation-dependent chromatin compaction. Leveraging human adipose tissue samples and 11,084 participants from the atherosclerosis risk in communities study, we validate the relevance of GDF3 to aging in humans. These findings position the GDF3-SMAD2/3 axis as a critical driver of age-associated chromatin remodeling and a promising therapeutic target for mitigating macrophage-related inflammation in aging.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueAgingChromatinGrowth Differentiation Factor 3InflammationMacrophagesAnimalsFemaleHumansMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutSignal TransductionSmad2 ProteinSmad3 ProteinChromatinGrowth Differentiation Factor 3Smad2 ProteinSmad3 Protein

Identifiers

PMID41398392
PMCPMC12823384

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.