title: Historic overview of studies on fatty acid-binding proteins.
abstract: Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) were first identified in the cytosol of rat intestinal mucosa during studies on the regulation of intestinal fatty acid uptake. The subsequent finding of FABP activity in the cytosol of many other tissues initially was believed to reflect a single protein. However, the FABPs are now recognized as products of an ancient gene family comprised of at least 9 structurally related, solube intracellular members, a number of which exhibit high-affinity binding of long-chain fatty acids. Despite recent insights into regulation and tissue-specific expression suggesting FABPs to subserve diverse roles, their precise biological functions remain to be elucidated.
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
authors: R K
authors: RK
authors: Ockner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008830:Microbodies / Q000378:metabolism; D005810:Multigene Family; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C490174:Fabp7 protein, rat; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins