Herein, we assess the pharmacological effects of recombinant murine FGF21 (rmuFGF21) in a mouse model with severely depleted adipose tissue levels. We generated lipodystrophy mice to replicate previously published aP2-nSREBP1c mice [18] and investigated the anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic efficacy of rmuFGF21. We found that apart from plasma cholesterol levels, rmuFGF21 was ineffective at improving glucose and lipid homeostasis in lipodystrophy mice. Further, adipose transplantation and leptin treatment restored FGF21 responsiveness in these mice.
