Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Mar;17(2):124-9.
doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000031.

Fatty acid binding proteins: tissue-specific functions in health and disease

Alfred E Thumser  1 , Jennifer Bernadette Moore, Nick J Plant
Affiliations
Review

Fatty acid binding proteins: tissue-specific functions in health and disease

Alfred E Thumser et al. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The purpose of this study is to review recent evidence for the role of the cytosolic fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) as central regulators of whole-body metabolic control.

Recent findings: Dysregulated FABPs have been associated with a number of diseases, including obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (FABP1, FABP2, FABP4), cardiovascular risk (FABP3) and cancer (FABP5, FABP7). As underlying mechanisms become better understood, FABPs may represent novel biomarkers for therapeutic targets. In addition, the role of FABPs as important signalling molecules has also been highlighted in recent years; for example, FABP3 may act as a myokine, matching whole-body metabolism to muscular energy demands and FABP4 functions as an adipokine in regulating macrophage and adipocyte interactions during inflammation.

Summary: In addition to their traditional role as fatty acid trafficking proteins, increasing evidence supports the role of FABPs as important controllers of global metabolism, with their dysregulation being linked to a host of metabolic diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

MeSH terms