Cited by 97Liver physiology and pathologyFibroblast Growth Factor ResearchLiver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Fibroblast growth factor 21 attenuates hepatic fibrogenesis through TGF-β/smad2/3 and NF-κB signaling pathways

Xu, Pengfei, Zhang, Yingjie, Liu, Yunye, Yuan, Qingyan, Song, Liying, Liu, Mingyao, Liu, Zhihang, Yang, Yongbi +3 more·2016·Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology

Abstract

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is a secreted protein, which has anti-diabetic and lipocaic effects, but its ability to protect against hepatic fibrosis has not been studied. In this study, we investigated the ability of FGF-21 to attenuate dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced hepatic fibrogenesis in mice and the mechanism of its action. Hepatic fibrosis was induced by injection of DMN, FGF-21 was administered to the mice once daily in association with DMN injection till the end of the experiment. Histopathological examination, tissue 4-hydroxyproline content and expressions of smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA) and collagen I were measured to assess hepatic fibrosis. Ethanol/PDGF-BB-activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were used to understand the mechanisms of FGF-21 inhibited hepatic fibrogenesis. Results showed that FGF-21 treatment attenuated hepatic fibrogenesis and was associated with a significant decrease in intrahepatic fibrogenesis, 4-hydroxyproline accumulation, α-SMA expression and collagen I deposition. FGF-21 treatment inhibited the activation of HSCs via down-regulating the expression of TGF-β, NF-κB nuclear translocation, phosphorylation levels of smad2/3 and IκBα. Besides, FGF-21 treatment caused activated HSC apoptosis with increasing expression of Caspase-3, and decreased the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax. In conclusion, FGF-21 attenuates hepatic fibrogenesis and inhibits the activation of HSC warranting the use of FGF-21 as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.taap.2015.11.012

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  • Additional signaling pathways directly promote or block HSC activation in MASH fibrosis, including FGF21, GLP2/GLP2R, IL11, and CCL25/CCR9.

    “Additional signaling pathways also directly promote or block HSC activation in MASH fibrosis, including fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) (164), glucagon-like peptide 2/ glucagon-like peptide 2 receptor (165), interleukin 11 (IL11) (46, 166), and chemokine ligand 2 (CCL25)/C-C chemokine receptor type 9 (CCR9) (167).”

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Authors
Xu, P., Zhang, Y., Liu, Y., Yuan, Q., Song, L., Liu, M., Liu, Z., Yang, Y., Li, J., Li, D., & Ren, G.
Affiliations
Northeast Agricultural University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Li, Deshan
  • Ren, Guiping
Venue
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-01
Volume
290
Pages
43-53
ISSN
0041-008X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2176815997
Cited by
97
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 5
FWCI
3.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Heilongjiang Province Project of Applied Technology Research and Development (2013GC13C104)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of Biological Science (J1210069/J0116)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hepatology › Liver physiology and pathology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fibroblast Growth Factor Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
Keywords
FGF21, liver fibrosis, hepatic stellate cell activation, TGF-β/Smad2/3 signaling, NF-κB signaling, N-nitrosodimethylamine, apoptosis, caspase-3, Bcl-2/Bax ratio, antifibrotic therapy
MeSH terms
Actins, Animals, Dimethylnitrosamine, Fibroblast Growth Factors, Hydroxyproline, Liver, Liver Cirrhosis, Male, Mice, Inbred ICR, Signal Transduction, Down-Regulation, Transforming Growth Factor beta, NF-kappa B, Apoptosis, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2, Collagen Type I, bcl-2-Associated X Protein, Mice, Smad2 Protein, Smad3 Protein, Caspase 3, Hepatic Stellate Cells

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