FGF21 regulates alcohol intake: New hopes on the rise for alcohol use disorder treatment?

Genome-wide association study for circulating FGF21 in patients with alcohol use disorder: Molecular links between the SNHG16 locus and catecholamine metabolism

“…Previous studies have raised the possibility that FGF21 administration could affect alcohol consumption and reward behaviors [ 3 ]. FGF21 levels can be induced by ethanol and, as mentioned previously, are associated with recent alcohol consumption [ 4 , 7 ] ( Figure 6 A). Our results highlight that plasma FGF21 levels are positively associated with recent alcohol use in patients with AUD.…”

“…Currently, three drugs, acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram, have received FDA approval for the pharmacotherapy of AUD in the United States. However, a growing body of evidence suggests a potential role for FGF21 as a novel treatment target for AUD [ 4 , 7 ]. We designed the present study to apply GWAS to identify genetic variants that might be associated with plasma FGF21 levels and to study their possible functional role in AUD.…”

“…Acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for the pharmacotherapy of AUD in the United States. However, growing evidence has prompted the development of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) based therapy as a potential treatment for AUD [ [2] , [3] , [4] ]. FGF21 is a metabolic hormone with multiple functions, including signaling to the hypothalamus's paraventricular nucleus to decrease sugar and alcohol intake [ 2 , 5 ].…”

“…The bulk of literature on this subject has raised the possibility that FGF21 administration might affect alcohol consumption and reward behaviors [ 3 ]. FGF21 levels can also be induced by ethanol and are associated with recent alcohol consumption [ 4 , 7 ]. The effects of FGF21 in the central nervous system are associated, at least in part, with the regulation of catecholamines, neurotransmitters that play a crucial role in reward pathways [ 2 ].…”

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

“… 157 , 158 , 159 Observations are showing that exogenous FGF21 regulates alcohol intake in mammals through the nervous system or associating with the dysfunction of FGFRs and β-klotho. 160 , 161 The more important indicator of liver lipids is cholesterol content, which is closely related to bile acids. Cholesterol can synthesize bile acids, but exposure to bile acid injures the liver and impairs the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids.…”