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Liver hormone FGF21, or fibroblast growth factor 21.t FGF21 acts via the brain’s reward pathway in mice to suppress the desire for sugar and alcohol in favor of drinking water. Intake of alcohol or sugar turns on production of FGF21(fibriblast) in the liver, this hormone travels in the blood to a specific part of the brain-hypothalamus, to stimulate thirst, thereby preventing dehydration.
FGF21 works through a new pathway that is independent of the classical renin-angiotensin-aldosterone thirst pathway in the kidneys. In mice, the study revealed, the hormone regulated hydration in response to nutrient stress. Normal mice and mice genetically unable to produce FGF21 drank similar amounts of water when given chow diet. However, a high-fat/low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet stimulated water drinking in normal mice while mice genetically are unable to produce FGF21 failed to increase water intake in response to the nutritional stress. These shows the hormone’s role in the signaling pathway.
During the research, different participants drank either a mixture of alcohol and juice, or juice after four hours researchers measured their FGF21 blood levels. In response to alcohol, FGF21 levels peaked at around two hours and fell after that. This shows that FGF21 might be used as a drug to limit alcohol consumption and protect against its effects in people. FGF21 is regulated the same way in humans as in mice, the process involves the expression and activation of certain proteins in the brain. The FGF21-induced thirst response appears to depend on signaling pathway in the hypothalmus-the β-adrenergic circuit.
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