Sustained remission of type 2 diabetes in rodents by centrally administered fibroblast growth factor 4

Protein reverses diabetes in mice

29 September 2023

Mice with type 2 diabetes undergo long-term remission when administered fibroblast growth factor 4.

Type 2 diabetes is on the rise globally, and it represents a growing health and economic burden.

Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes almost invariably consigns a person to a lifetime of managing the metabolic disorder since no treatment is currently capable of reversing it.

Fibroblast growth factor 1 — a member of a family of signalling molecules that mediate various processes — had previously been shown to cause type 2 diabetes to go into remission in rodents.

Now, a team led by researchers from ShanghaiTech University in China has discovered that fibroblast growth factor 4 is also a potent antidiabetic in mice.

Fibroblast growth factor 4 could offer a way for achieving long-term remission of type 2 diabetes in people, the researchers say.

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References

1. Cell Metabolism 35, 1022–1037 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.04.018