Comment on “Activation of the Omega-3 Fatty Acid Receptor GPR120 Protects against Focal Cerebral Ischemic Injury by Preventing Inflammation and Apoptosis in Mice”

Free fatty acid receptor 4 (FFAR4/GPR120) is a member of a family of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs), which can bind free fatty acids (1). FFAR4 is preferentially activated by long-chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (2), which are involved in many biological functions, including cell membrane maintenance, metabolism, insulin response, and the inflammatory cascade (3). The free fatty acid binding capability of this group of receptors has made them targets of interest in diabetes and cardiovascular research (3, 4), while their involvement in anti-inflammatory signaling (5, 6) is of interest to the fields of stroke (7) and neurodegenerative disease (8). FFAR4 is highly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract, lung tissue, and to a lesser extent in the heart (9, 10) and brain (2, 11). More importantly, the exact...