A groundbreaking study published in Cell Metabolism has revealed that a hormone called FGF21 may be able to reverse fatty liver disease in mice.
The research, led by Dr. Matthew Potthoff at the University of Oklahoma, could lead to new treatments for this common and serious liver condition. Some drugs based on this hormone are already in late-stage clinical trials.
Fatty liver disease, now called MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease), happens when too much fat builds up in the liver. This can sometimes get worse and turn into MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), which includes liver inflammation and scarring.
If left untreated, it can lead to liver failure and other health problems. Right now, there is only one FDA-approved drug to treat MASH, so scientists are urgently looking for new options. MASLD is estimated to affect about 40% of people around the world.
FGF21 stands for fibroblast growth factor 21. It is a hormone made by the liver that sends important signals to other parts of the body. In this study, the researchers found that FGF21 helped mice recover from fatty liver disease, even while the mice continued eating a high-fat diet that usually damages the liver.
The hormone worked in two ways. First, it sent signals to the brain, which then told the body to change nerve activity in ways that protect the liver. Second, FGF21 also acted directly on the liver to help lower cholesterol levels. Both actions helped reduce liver damage, but most of the benefits seemed to come from the brain signals.
Dr. Potthoff explained it as a feedback loop: the liver sends a message to the brain through the hormone, and the brain then responds in a way that helps protect the liver. This strong brain-liver connection is what makes FGF21 so powerful.
FGF21 works in a similar way to another group of popular medications called GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic. These are used to treat diabetes and help with weight loss. Both types of hormones come from different organs (GLP-1 from the intestine, FGF21 from the liver), but they act through the brain to help control how the body handles food and energy.
One of the most exciting parts of this study is that FGF21 didn’t just reduce fat in the liver—it also reversed fibrosis, which is the scarring that causes the most long-term damage in fatty liver disease. And it did this without any change in the mice’s unhealthy diet.
These results help scientists understand how the hormone works and suggest that future treatments using FGF21 could be even more helpful for people. The hope is that once tested in humans, FGF21-based medications could offer a new way to treat liver diseases.
If you’re interested in keeping your liver healthy, you may want to read more studies like “Healthy liver, happy life: new advice for keeping your liver in top shape” and “Ibuprofen may have significant impact on the liver.”
Also, check out research on how fatty liver disease is linked to severe infections and the latest news on drugs that help with weight loss and liver health.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about simple habit that could give you a healthy liver, and common diabetes drug that may reverse liver inflammation.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about simple blood test that could detect your risk of fatty liver disease, and results showing this green diet may strongly lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
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