Fibroblast growth factor 21 potentially inhibits microRNA-33 expression to affect macrophage actions.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease with complex pathological processes. MicroRNA-33 (miR-33), a novel non-coding RNA that coexpresses with sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs), affects macrophage actions to prevent atherosclerosis. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an important regulator of lipid metabolism, especially for macrophage-related cholesterol export, but the mechanism is not fully studied. Interestingly, FGF21 has been evidenced to prevent atherosclerosis via inhibiting SREBP-2 expression. Therefore, we speculate that FGF21 may be a potential regulator for miR-33 with an aim of insight into novel anti-atherosclerotic mechanisms and research fields.