Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family members are mostly secreted as signaling proteins with diverse functions in development and metabolism. FGFs can be classified as intracellular, paracrine, and endocrine FGFs by their action mechanisms. FGF-21 is a novel member of endocrine FGF subfamily with pleotropic actions. Recent findings indicate that FGF-21 can act as a cardiomyokine; that is, it is produced by cardiac cells and acts in an autocrine manner on the heart itself. The heart is sensitive to the effects of FGF-21, both systemic and locally generated, owing to the expression in cardiomyocytes of β-Klotho, the key coreceptor known to confer specific responsiveness to FGF-21 action. It has been shown to exert cardioprotective effects in against cardiac hypertrophy, myocardial infarction, cardiac inflammation, cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and oxidative stress. It also promotes energy supply to the heart through fatty acid β-oxidation. Intracellular mechanisms involving peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and sirtunin 1 mediate transcriptional regulation of the FGF-21 gene in response to exogenous stimuli. This review explores the molecular mechanism by which FGF-21 provides cardioprotection.
Recommended Citation
Melaku, Leta Shiferaw and Debela, Negeri
(2020)
"Molecular description of fibroblast growth factor and mechanisms by which fibroblast growth factor-21 mediating biological actions and acting as a biologic biomarker of cardiovascular diseases,"
Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU: Vol. 13:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/kleuhsj.kleuhsj_92_20
Available at:
https://kleijhsbr.researchcommons.org/journal/vol13/iss2/3
Pages
68
Last Page
85
Copyright
© 2020 Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU | Published by Wolters Kluwer – Medknow