Is Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor a Metabolic Hormone in Peripheral Tissues?

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important growth factor in the central nervous system. In addition to its well-known activities in promoting neuronal survival, neuron differentiation, and synaptic plasticity, neuronal BDNF also regulates energy homeostasis by modulating the hypothalamus's hormonal signals. In the past decades, several peripheral tissues, including liver, skeletal muscle, and white adipose tissue, were demonstrated as the active sources of BDNF synthesis in response to different metabolic challenges. Nevertheless, the functions of BDNF in these tissues remain obscure. With the use of tissue-specific Bdnf knockout animals and the availability of non-peptidyl BDNF mimetic, increasing evidence has reported that peripheral tissues-derived BDNF might play a significant role in maintaining systemic metabolism, possibly through the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in the various tissues. This article reviews the autocrine/paracrine/endocrine functions of BDNF in non-neuronal tissues and discusses the unresolved questions about BDNF's function.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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