Article history: Received 22 June 2015 Accepted 29 July 2015 Available online 30 July 2015 drug has the potential to lower body fat, body weight, triglyceride and LDL while raising HDL-cholesterol, and treating obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes and hypertension all at once. Such findings highlight the potential role of FGF21 as a therapeutic agent for management of type 2 diabetes and prevent the development of long-term vascular complications. Although the link between diabetes and atherosclerosis is not yet fully elucidated, experimental and epidemiological evidence suggests that diabetes may promote an earlier and more severe atherosclerotic Diabetesmellitus is a complicatedmetabolic disorderwith both shortand long-term undesirable vascular complications. It is mainly characterized by hyperglycemia and is associated with the imbalance in carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolisms [1]. Hyperglycemia can cause serious damage to blood vessels, leading to macroand microvascular complications. Though it is important that glycaemic control should be achieved as rapidly as possible tominimize the impact of glucose toxicity, it is also necessary to provide therapy to control other related risk factors, including dyslipidaemia and vascular complications [2]. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) has been recently considered as a metabolic hormone. FGF21 has been shown to play an important role in regulating energy homeostasis [3]. For example, therapeutic administration of FGF21 in ob/obmice increased energetic waste, body temperature, fat utilization, and reduced hepatic steatosis, associated with a 20% body weight reduction [4]. In cultures of human adipocytes and in 3T3-L1 cells, FGF21 administration has a dose-dependent effect on stimulating glucose incorporation [5]. FGF21 is known to play an important role during fasting and starvation by stimulating gluconeogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, and ketogenesis in the liver and inducing lipolysis in white adipose tissues [6]. Recent data suggest that the dysregulation of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism can contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. FGF21-treatment has been reported to increase HDL plasma levels in diabetic monkeys. Notably, Shang et al. [7] found that FGF21 increases HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux in oxLDL stimulated macrophage foamcells, potentially through LXRα-dependent upregulation of ABCA1 and ABCG1. Lin et al. [8] demonstrate that FGF21 can promote cholesterol efflux by upregulating ABCA1 through the ERK1/2PPARγ-LXRα pathway in THP1 macrophage-derived foam cells. In addition, a first-in-man, proof-of-concept randomized trial showed that LY2405319, an analog of FGF21 injected daily for a month im-