title: Fibroblast growth factor 21 is a metabolic regulator that plays a role in the adaptation to ketosis.
abstract: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) was originally identified as a member of the FGF family in homology studies and is a member of the endocrine FGF subfamily that lacks heparin binding domains and is released into the circulation. A potential role as a metabolic regulator emerged when FGF21 was shown to increase glucose uptake in adipocytes. Subsequently, marked elevations in FGF21 expression were observed in mice that ate a ketogenic diet and when fasting, which suggests that FGF21 expression plays a role in the adaptation to metabolic states that require increased fatty acid oxidation. Consistent with this evidence, FGF21 knockout mice were not able to respond appropriately to consumption of a ketogenic diet. FGF21 expression is downstream of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α in the liver and PPARγ in adipose tissue. FGF21 concentrations are higher in both rodent and human obesity, and recent data suggest that obesity may be an FGF21-resistant state. Recent data increasingly suggest that FGF21 is an important metabolic regulator that may have potential clinical implications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Eleni M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Domouzoglou
authors.forename: Eleftheria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maratos-Flier
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D055423:Diet, Ketogenic; D005215:Fasting; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007662:Ketosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D047493:PPAR alpha; D047495:PPAR gamma; C414620:fibroblast growth factor 21; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D005947:Glucose