title: The multigene family of fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs): function, structure and polymorphism.
abstract: Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are members of the superfamily of lipid-binding proteins (LBP). So far 9 different FABPs, with tissue-specific distribution, have been identified: L (liver), I (intestinal), H (muscle and heart), A (adipocyte), E (epidermal), Il (ileal), B (brain), M (myelin) and T (testis). The primary role of all the FABP family members is regulation of fatty acid uptake and intracellular transport. The structure of all FABPs is similar - the basic motif characterizing these proteins is beta-barrel, and a single ligand (e.g. a fatty acid, cholesterol, or retinoid) is bound in its internal water-filled cavity. Despite the wide variance in the protein sequence, the gene structure is identical. The FABP genes consist of 4 exons and 3 introns and a few of them are located in the same chromosomal region. For example, A-FABP, E-FABP and M-FABP create a gene cluster. Because of their physiological properties some FABP genes were tested in order to identify mutations altering lipid metabolism. Furthermore, the porcine A-FABP and H-FABP were studied as candidate genes with major effect on fatness traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, August Cieszkowski Agricultural University of Poznan, Wolynska 33, Poznan 60-637, Poland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chmurzyńska
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics*; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D005810:Multigene Family; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids