The emerging functions and mechanisms of mammalian fatty acid-binding proteins

STORCH J; CÓRSICO B

Annual Review of Nutrition

Año: 2008

0199-9885

Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are abundant intracellular proteins that bind long chain fatty acids with high affinity.  Nine separate mammalian FABPs have been identified, and their tertiary structures are highly conserved.  The FABPs have unique tissue-specific distributions that have long suggested functional differences amongst them.  In the last decade, considerable progress has been made in understanding the specific functions of the FABPs and, in some cases, their mechanisms of action at the molecular level.  The FABPs appear to be involved in the extranuclear compartments of the cell, trafficking their ligands within the cytosol via interactions with organelle membranes and specific proteins.  Several members of the FABP family have been shown to function directly in the regulation of cognate nuclear transcription factor activity via ligand-dependent translocation to the nucleus.  This chapter will focus on these emerging functions and mechanisms for the FABPs, highlighting similarities as well as unique functional properties of each.