title: New insights into the fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) family in the small intestine.
abstract: The fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) superfamily is constituted by 14-15 kDa soluble proteins which bind with a high affinity either long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), bile acids (BAs) or retinoids. In the small intestine, three different FABP isoforms exhibiting a high affinity for LCFAs and/or BAs are expressed: the intestinal and the liver-type (I-FABP and L-FABP) and the ileal bile acid-binding protein (I-BABP). Despite of extensive investigations, their respective physiological function(s) are not clearly established. In contrast to the I-FABP, L-FABP and I-BABP share several common structural features (shape, size and volume of the hydrophobic pocket). Moreover, L-FABP and I-BABP genes are also specifically regulated by their respective preferential ligands through a very similar molecular mechanism. Although, they exhibit differences in their binding specificities and location along the small intestine supporting a specialization, it is likely that L-FABP and I-BABP genes exert the same type of basic function(s) in the enterocyte, in contrast to I-FABP.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Nutrition, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Biologie Appliquée à la Nutrition et à l'Alimentation, FRE 2328 CNRS-CESG/Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France. pbesnard@u-bourgogne.fr
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Besnard
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Niot
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Clément
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernard
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C493320:Fabp1 protein, mouse; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms