Estradiol-dependent and independent effects of FGF21 in obese female mice.
VAVILOVSKII ZHURNAL GENETIKI I SELEKTSII 2022;
26:159-168. [PMID:
35434487 PMCID:
PMC8983308 DOI:
10.18699/vjgb-22-20]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
The f ibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) synthesized in the liver, acting as a hormone, increases insulin sensitivity and energy expenditure. FGF21 administration has potent benef icial effects on obesity and diabetes in humans, cynomolgus monkey, and rodents. The therapeutic effects of FGF21 have been studied mainly in males. They are not always manifested in females, and they are accompanied by sex-specif ic activation of gene expression in tissues. We have suggested that one of the causes of sexual dimorphism in response to FGF21 is the effect of estradiol (E2). Currently, it is not known how estradiol modif ies the pharmacological effects of FGF21. The objec tive of this study was to study the inf luence of FGF21 on metabolic characteristics, food intake, and the expression
of carbohydrate and fat metabolism genes in the liver, adipose tissue, and hypothalamus in female mice with alimentary
obesity and low (ovariectomy) or high (ovariectomy + E2) blood estradiol level. In ovariectomized (OVX)
females, the development of obesity was induced by the consumption of a high sweet-fat diet (standard chow, lard,
and cookies) for 8 weeks. We investigated the effects of FGF21 on body weight, blood levels, food preferences and
gene expression in tissues when FGF21 was administered separately or in combination with E2 for 13 days. In OVX
obese females, FGF21, regardless of E2-treatment, did not affect body weight, and adipose tissue weight, or glucose
tolerance but increased the consumption of standard chow, reduced blood glucose levels, and suppressed its own
expression in the liver (Fgf21), as well as the expression of the G6pc and Acacα genes. This study is the f irst to show
the modif ication of FGF21 effects by estradiol: inhibition of FGF21-inf luence on the expression of Irs2 and Pklr in the
liver and potentiation of the FGF21-stimulated expression of Lepr and Klb in the hypothalamus. In addition, when
administered together with estradiol, FGF21 exerted an inhibitory effect on the expression of Cpt1α in subcutaneous
white adipose tissue (scWAT), whereas no stimulating FGF21 effects on the expression of Insr and Acacβ in
scWAT or inhibitory FGF21 effect on the plasma insulin level were observed. The results suggest that the absence of
FGF21 effects on body and adipose tissue weights in OVX obese females and its benef icial effect on food intake and
blood glucose levels are not associated with the action of estradiol. However, estradiol affects the transcriptional effects
of FGF21 in the liver, white adipose tissue, and hypothalamus, which may underlie sex differences in the FGF21
effect on the expression of metabolic genes and, possibly, in pharmacological FGF21 effects
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