FGF-21 Levels and Liver Inflammatory Biomarkers in Obese Subjects After Weight Loss.

Abstract

IntroductionPrevious studies have hypothesized Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) as a potential biomarker of the inflammation associated to liver diseases, which is also receiving high attention for its potential application concerning the management of obesity and co-morbidities. This study aimed to analyze the response of FGF-21 after a weight loss intervention and the relationships with other putative inflammatory liver biomarkers.Material and methodsSixty-six obese participants from the RESMENA study were evaluated at baseline and after following a 6-months energy restriction treatment. Anthropometrical, body composition by DXA, routine laboratory measurements, which included transaminases and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) were analyzed by standardized methods. Moreover, FGF-21, M30-fragment (M30) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-I) were analyzed as recognized liver inflammatory related biomarkers with specific ELISA Kits.ResultsMost measurements related with hepatic damage, inflammation and adiposity status improved at the end of the 6-months nutritional intervention. In addition, ΔFGF-21 shifts evidenced statistical relationships with changes in ΔM30, ΔGGT and ΔPAI. The reduction of M30 showed significant associations with changes in transaminases. Furthermore, PAI-I changes were related with ΔM30 and ΔGGT regardless of weight loss. A linear regression model was set up to assess the influence of ΔPAI-I and ΔM30 on the variability of ΔFGF-21 (23.8%) adjusted by weight loss.ConclusionsThese results evidenced interactions of some liver inflammatory mediators, specifically M30 and PAI-I with FGF-21. Thus, more investigation about FGF-21 is required given that this protein could be a biomarker of the obesity-inflammation-liver process.

Maternal Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Levels Decrease during Early Pregnancy in Normotensive Pregnant Women but Are Higher in Preeclamptic Women—A Longitudinal Study

“…Additionally, Nitert et al, demonstrated that placental FGF-21 mRNA and protein expression were similar in women with preeclampsia compared to normotensive control pregnant women [ 19 ]. On the other hand, previous studies have shown that circulating levels of FGF-21 are increased in pathologies such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and different chronic inflammatory processes [ 61 ]. Pregnancy, as a temporary diabetogenic state mainly caused by insulin resistance, has circulating concentration of FGF-21 due to hepatic origin; therefore, it is possible that its regulation mechanisms might be modulated by different hormones of placental origin.…”

Fibroblast growth factor 21: An emerging pleiotropic regulator of lipid metabolism and the metabolic network

“…Instead, when the mouse liver is damaged to varying degrees, liver-derived FGF21 will be abundantly secreted as a stress factor under the regulation of internal and external factors such as chemical factors, physical factors, genetic factors, and body state. 135 , 136 For example, during hepatic carcinogenesis induced by diethylnitrosamine and genetic factors, FGF21 transcription is significantly promoted, which is regulated by a variety of transcription factors, including p53, c-jun, and STAT3. These transcription factors can respond differently to different stress responses.…”

Targeting FGF21 in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases: from mechanism to medicine

“…Serum FGF21 alone is also supported for use as a biomarker for NAFLD liver fat content in a randomized trial that enrolled 220 NAFLD patients with central obesity 179 . Regarding the relationship between FGF21 and liver inflammation, researchers used a linear regression method to explore the impact of some liver inflammatory mediators on FGF21 and supported that FGF21 can be a biomarker for the liver inflammation process 180 . NASH is the higher stage of NAFLD with severe liver inflammation, and another cross-sectional study demonstrated that FGF21 is associated with the severity of NASH 181 .…”