Transport of Long-Chain Fatty Acids into Mammary Cells

Transport of Long-Chain Fatty Acids into Mammary Cells [Pg.48]

FABPs have been implicated in transmembrane and intracellular transport of fatty acids (Veerkamp et al., 1991 Storch and Thumser, 2000). These are a group of tissue-specific proteins of about 14-15 kDa that bind long-chain fatty acids (C16-C20) with high affinity and a molar stoichiometry of 1 1. Most bind unsaturated fatty acids with higher affinity than saturated fatty acids. In addition to transport functions it has been proposed that they modulate specific enzymes of lipid metabolism, regulate expression of fatty acid-responsive genes, maintain cellular membrane fatty acid levels, and reduce the concentration of fatty acids in the cell, thereby removing their inhibitory effect on metabolic processes. [Pg.49]