Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
07:00
Using Caco-2 Cells to Study Lipid Transport by the Intestine
Published on: August 20, 2015
SLC27 fatty acid transport proteins
Courtney M Anderson1, Andreas Stahl
1Metabolic Biology, Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California Berkeley, CA, USA.
Molecular Aspects of Medicine
|March 20, 2013
Summary
Long chain fatty acid transport proteins (FATPs) are crucial for cellular processes and metabolic health. This review examines how FATPs function in vivo using animal models, highlighting their roles in health and disease.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cellular Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Long chain fatty acids (LCFA) are vital for physiological and cellular functions.
- Disruptions in LCFA levels are linked to metabolic diseases.
- Protein-mediated transport is considered the primary mechanism for LCFA uptake.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of the SLC27 family of fatty acid transport proteins (FATPs).
- To emphasize the insights gained from gain- and loss-of-function animal models.
- To elucidate the in vivo functions of FATPs in physiological and pathological contexts.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on FATPs.
- Analysis of data from gain-of-function animal models.
- Analysis of data from loss-of-function animal models.
Main Results:
- FATPs are key players in LCFA uptake and metabolism.
- Animal models reveal diverse in vivo roles for FATPs.
- FATPs are implicated in various physiological processes and metabolic diseases.
Conclusions:
- FATPs are essential for maintaining cellular and organismal homeostasis.
- Understanding FATP function is critical for developing therapies for metabolic disorders.
- Further research into FATP mechanisms and regulation is warranted.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters
Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
01:31Membrane Transporters
Transporters are essential membrane transport proteins with functions related to cell nutrition, homeostasis, communication, etc. Approximately 7% of all genes in the human genome code for transporters or transporter-related proteins.
Transporters are mainly composed of alpha-helices, built from bundles of ten or more helices traversing the plasma membrane. The solute-binding sites are located midway, where some of the helices are broken or distorted, making space for the binding site through...
Transporters are mainly composed of alpha-helices, built from bundles of ten or more helices traversing the plasma membrane. The solute-binding sites are located midway, where some of the helices are broken or distorted, making space for the binding site through...
01:06Carrier-Mediated Transport
Carrier-mediated transport is a pivotal process in drug absorption, particularly for lipid-insoluble drugs, and encompasses facilitated diffusion and active transport. Facilitated diffusion allows drugs to move along their concentration gradient without energy expenditure, while active transport utilizes ATP to drive drug movement against this gradient.
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
01:19Drug Absorption Mechanism: Carrier-Mediated Membrane Transport
Certain large, lipid-insoluble drug molecules that resemble amino acids, peptides, or glucose, require specialized carrier proteins to facilitate their diffusion across cell membranes. This transport can occur through either facilitated diffusion, which does not require energy input, or active transport, which does require energy input.
Facilitated diffusion is a passive process that utilizes human Solute Carrier (SLC) transporters. These transporters bind to the drug, undergo structural...
Facilitated diffusion is a passive process that utilizes human Solute Carrier (SLC) transporters. These transporters bind to the drug, undergo structural...
01:16Facilitated Diffusion
The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
01:27Glucose Transporters
Glucose transporters facilitate the transport of glucose across the cell membrane. In addition to glucose, some glucose transporters can also aid the movement of other hexoses such as fructose, mannose, and galactose.
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes: