FGF21 facilitates autophagy in prostate cancer cells by inhibiting the PI3K–Akt–mTOR signaling pathway

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) plays an important role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, but its role in cancer is less well-studied. We aimed to investigate the action of FGF21 in the development of prostate cancer (PCa). Herein, we found that FGF21 expression was markedly downregulated in PCa tissues and cell lines. FGF21 inhibited the proliferation and clone formation of LNCaP cells (a PCa cell line) and promoted apoptosis. FGF21 also inhibited PCa cell migration and invasiveness. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses revealed that FGF21 was related to autophagy and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase–Akt kinase–mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K–Akt–mTOR) pathway. Mechanistically, FGF21 promoted autophagy in LNCaP cells by inhibiting the PI3K–Akt–mTOR–70S6K pathway. In addition, FGF21 inhibited PCa tumorigenesis in vivo in nude mice. Altogether, our findings show that FGF21 inhibits PCa cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in PCa cells through facilitated autophagy. Therefore, FGF21 might be a potential novel target in PCa therapy.