Unsaturated fatty acids as endogenous bioregulators
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Updated: Oct 30, 2026

Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 29, 2013
1Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. vvbez@oxylipin.siobc.ras.ru
Abstract:
Most biological functions of unsaturated fatty acids are due to their ability to act as second messengers or modulators of activities of functionally important proteins; these functions are not related to oxidative metabolism of unsaturated fatty acids. These acids regulate the activity of phospholipases, ion channels, ATPases, G-proteins, and protein kinases; they also modulate the phosphoinositide and sphingomyelin cycles, the transfer of hormonal information, and gene transcription. The great diversity of effects of unsaturated fatty acids and their presence at the earliest stages of evolution suggest for these bioregulators a system-forming role in the living body.
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