title: Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Protects against Atherosclerosis via Fine-Tuning the Multiorgan Crosstalk.
abstract: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a metabolic hormone with pleiotropic effects on energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Besides its antiobese and antidiabetic activity, FGF21 also possesses the protective effects against atherosclerosis. Circulating levels of FGF21 are elevated in patients with atherosclerosis, macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes, possibly due to a compensatory upregulation. In apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, formation of atherosclerotic plaques is exacerbated by genetic depletion of FGF21, but is attenuated upon replenishment with recombinant FGF21. However, the blood vessel is not the direct target of FGF21, and the antiatherosclerotic activity of FGF21 is attributed to its actions in adipose tissues and liver. In adipocytes, FGF21 promotes secretion of adiponectin, which in turn acts directly on blood vessels to reduce endothelial dysfunction, inhibit proliferation of smooth muscle cells and block conversion of macrophages to foam cells. Furthermore, FGF21 suppresses cholesterol biosynthesis and attenuates hypercholesterolemia by inhibiting the transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2 in hepatocytes. The effects of FGF21 on elevation of adiponectin and reduction of hypercholesterolemia are also observed in a phase-1b clinical trial in patients with obesity and diabetes. Therefore, FGF21 exerts its protection against atherosclerosis by fine-tuning the interorgan crosstalk between liver, brain, adipose tissue, and blood vessels.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Leigang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhuofeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. amxu@hkucc.hku.hk.
authors.forename: Aimin
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0668-033X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: Adiponectin; Fibroblast growth factor 21; Hypercholesterolemia; Metabolic syndrome; Vascular diseases