Members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family of proteins play many regulatory roles in several tissues. FGF-21 is a novel member of the FGF family, but its biological role was not known. In a study appearing online on May 2 in advance of the print publication of the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Alexei Kharitonenkov and colleagues from Lilly Research Laboratories show that FGF-21 may be a new therapeutic treatment for Diabetes Mellitus.
The researchers show that FGF-21 regulates glucose uptake in human fat cells. Moreover, therapeutic administration of FGF-21 decreased plasma glucose levels and triglycerides to near normal levels in multiple mouse models of type 2 diabetes. FGF-21, when overexpressed, protected animals from diet-induced obesity. These results define a functional role for FGF-21 in vivo and provide evidence that FGF-21 can lower glucose and triglyceride levels in diabetic animals.
TITLE: FGF-21 as a novel metabolic regulator
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Alexei Kharitonenkov
Lilly Research Laboratories, Indianapolis, IN USA
Phone: (317) 276-0091; Fax: (317) 277-2934; E-mail: a.kharch@lilly.com
View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=23606
PHYSIOLOGY
Breaking down barriers in bacterial infection
Endothelial cells separate the blood from the tissues of the body and form barriers for protection. Death of these cells can allow for bacterial invasion and infection. In a study appearing online on May 2 in advance of the print publication of the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Joerg Weber and colleagues from Charite describe the ability of Gram-positive Streptococcus pneumoniae, a powerful patho
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Journal of Clinical Investigation
2-May-2005