native FGF21

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an endogenous, naturally occurring hormone primarily secreted by the liver, but also produced in other tissues. It acts as a master metabolic regulator with broad effects on energy expenditure and glucose and lipid metabolism. Native FGF21 exerts its biological activity by binding to fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR1c, FGFR2c, or FGFR3c) in the presence of the co-receptor β-Klotho, affecting tissues such as liver, adipose tissue, pancreas, muscle, heart, and brain. Pharmacologically administered native FGF21 has demonstrated significant benefits in preclinical models for weight loss and improvement of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease risk factors and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, its poor pharmacokinetic properties—specifically a very short half-life due to rapid proteolytic degradation and renal clearance—make it unsuitable for therapeutic use without modification. As a result of these limitations (short half-life of 0.5–2 hours), long-acting analogs or gene therapies expressing native FGF21 are being developed to harness its beneficial metabolic effects[2][3][6].

Other names

endogenous FGF21human FGF21wild-type FGF21