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REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Pharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1510322
This article is part of the Research TopicReviews in Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Pharmacology: 2024View all 9 articles
Targeting Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)-21 : A Promising Strategy for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Treatment
Provisionally accepted- 1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
- 2First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the predominant chronic liver disease, with its incidence increasing year by year. It has emerged as the most rapidly increasing contributor to liver-related mortality worldwide and is becoming a principal cause of end-stage liver disorders, primarily cancer of the liver and liver transplantation, hence putting a substantial economic burden on public health. The approval of Resmetirom signifies significant advancement in the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH); nonetheless, the heterogeneity of MASLD renders it challenging for a single medication to address the requirements of all patients. Consequently, it is essential to formulate varied therapeutic approaches for distinct pathogenic causes and phases of disease. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a member of the fibroblast growth factor family, plays a positive and protective role in MASLD. It attenuates hepatic steatosis and lipotoxicity, ameliorates insulin resistance (IR), reduces oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and inflammation, as well as possesses anti-fibrotic effects. As a result, FGF21 has the potential to treat MASLD. In this review, we will address the possible mechanisms of FGF21 therapy for MASLD to facilitate the development of clinical therapies targeting FGF21 for MASLD.
Keywords: fibroblast growth factor 21, Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, FGF21 analogs
Received: 12 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cui, Sun and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Haiqiang Wang, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.