The Roles and Pharmacological Effects of FGF21 in Preventing Aging-Associated Metabolic Diseases

Junbin Yan; Yunmeng Nie; Jielu Cao; Minmin Luo; Maoxiang Yan; Zhiyun Chen; Beihui He

doi:10.3389/fcvm.2021.655575

The Roles and Pharmacological Effects of FGF21 in Preventing Aging-Associated Metabolic Diseases

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021 Mar 31:8:655575. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.655575. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Junbin Yan^{1

2}, Yunmeng Nie¹, Jielu Cao^{1

2}, Minmin Luo^{1

2}, Maoxiang Yan^{1

2}, Zhiyun Chen^{1

2}, Beihui He^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Circulatory Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

With the continuous improvement of living standards but the lack of exercise, aging-associated metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are becoming a lingering dark cloud over society. Studies have found that metabolic disorders are near related to glucose, lipid metabolism, and cellular aging. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a member of the FGFs family, efficiently regulates the homeostasis of metabolism and cellular aging. By activating autophagy genes and improving inflammation, FGF21 indirectly delays cellular aging and directly exerts anti-aging effects by regulating aging genes. FGF21 can also regulate glucose and lipid metabolism by controlling metabolism-related genes, such as adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC1). Because FGF21 can regulate metabolism and cellular aging simultaneously, FGF21 analogs and FGF21 receptor agonists are gradually being valued and could become a treatment approach for aging-associated metabolic diseases. However, the mechanism by which FGF21 achieves curative effects is still not known. This review aims to interpret the interactive influence between FGF21, aging, and metabolic diseases and delineate the pharmacology of FGF21, providing theoretical support for further research on FGF21.

Keywords: aging; fibroblast growth factor 21; glycometabolism; lipometabolism; metabolic disease; pharmacology.

Publication types

Review