Role of Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) in Undernutrition-Related Attenuation of Growth in Mice

Abstract

Reduced caloric intake in mammals causes reduced skeletal growth and GH insensitivity. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to determine whether the increased activity of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) during chronic undernutrition in mice causes GH insensitivity and growth failure. After 4 wk of food restriction, fgf21 knockout (KO) mice exhibited greater body and tibial growth than their wild-type (WT) littermates. Daily injections of recombinant human FGF21 in a subgroup of food-restricted fgf21 KO mice prevented these differences in body and tibial growth. At the end of the 4-wk food restriction, GH binding and GH receptor expression were reduced in the liver and in the growth plate of food-restricted WT mice (compared to WT mice fed ad libitum), whereas they were similar between food-restricted and ad libitum KO mice. In addition, a single injection of GH induced greater liver signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 phosphorylation and IGF-I mRNA in food-restricted KO mice than in WT mice. Lastly, in the tibial growth plate of food-restricted WT mice, FGF21 mRNA and protein expression was greater than that of WT mice fed ad libitum. In contrast, the IGF-I mRNA and protein expression was smaller. Our findings support a causative role for FGF21 in the inhibition of skeletal growth during prolonged undernutrition. Such role may be mediated by the antagonistic effect of FGF21 on GH action in the liver and, possibly, in the growth plate.