Blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 also activates brown adipose tissue metabolism

The blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 is also an activator of brown adipose tissue metabolism, according to the study featured on the cover of Cell Metabolism and directed by the lecturer Francesc Villarroya of the UB's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Faculty of Biology), the Institute of Biomedicine, and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

The study was carried out using newborn mice, and reveals possible new therapeutic targets for combating obesity using the fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which is secreted by the liver in response to fats in the diet. The team behind the research describe a novel action of FGF21 on brown adipose tissue, which governs energy expenditure and heat production in the body.

FGF21 is an antidiabetic and antiobesity agent that has been referred to in scientific literature since 2005", says Francesc Villarroya, an expert in the study of metabolism regulation models using genetically modified mice. He explains that, "Our study provides the first evidence that FGF21 causes thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, that is, the burning of calories to release heat, dissipating large amounts of energy. Any agent that promotes and activates brown adipose tissue metabolism is, by definition, an antiobesity agent"...