Physiological and Pharmacological Roles of FGF21 in Cardiovascular Diseases

Figure 1

FGF21 induces preventive effect on CVDs through multiple signaling pathways. As a classical cytokine, FGF21 functions as a metabolic regulator by binding with its receptor FGFR1 or FGFR2 in the presence of β-klotho. Growing studies demonstrated that FGF21 also induced beneficial effects on CVDs probably due to inhibition of glucose or lipid metabolic disorders. For instance, FGF21 prevented atherosclerosis and the subsequent CHD by inhibition of lipogenesis which was also the possible mechanism of FGF21-induced preventive effect on CH. Additionally, FGF21 also prevented MI and DC by activation of Akt- and AMPK-mediated signaling pathway which were usually involved in maintaining glucose and lipid homeostasis.