The invention relates to a method for determining the
biological activity of FGF21 (
Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 21), which comprises the following steps: infecting and transfecting HEK293T cells by using an overexpression
lentivirus containing FGFR1 and beta-
Klotho genes and a
reporter gene plasmid containing an SER reaction element so as to obtain a
reporter gene-containing
cell strain capable of stably expressing FGFR1, beta-
Klotho and SRE; after FGF21 stimulation is added, the expression of a
luciferase reporter gene at the downstream of the SER-containing
promoter is activated; after co-incubation culture, adding a
luciferase substrate, and fitting a four-parameter curve according to a measured reporter
gene signal value, so as to determine the
biological activity of the FGF21. According to the method provided by the invention, the test period is shortened to 24 hours, the detection sensitivity for FGF21 can reach a nanogram level and is improved by 1000 times compared with that of a traditional glucose oxidation method, and the result is consistent. The method provided by the invention can be used for evaluating the
biological activity of FGF21 and analogues thereof as candidate drugs for treating metabolic diseases such as
diabetes mellitus and NASH, and plays an important guiding role in
quality control in research, development and production of FGF21 drugs.