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Fatty acid transport: difficult or easy?

J A Hamilton1

  • 1Department of Biophysics, Center for Advanced Biomedical Research, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA.

Journal of Lipid Research
|April 21, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Unesterified fatty acid (FA) transport across cell membranes is primarily driven by lipid physical chemistry, not protein catalysis. Fatty acids rapidly diffuse through membranes, with cellular uptake acidifying the cytosol.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology
  • Membrane Transport

Background:

  • Cellular uptake of unesterified fatty acids (FA) is debated, with models suggesting either simple diffusion or protein-mediated transport.
  • Understanding FA transport is crucial for cellular metabolism and signaling pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the physical chemistry governing FA transport across cell membranes.
  • To evaluate the necessity of protein involvement in FA transmembrane movement.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of FA physical properties in aqueous, membrane, and protein environments.
  • Review of NMR and fluorescence studies on FA-membrane interactions.
  • Examination of data from reconstituted mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP1) and cellular experiments.

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Main Results:

  • FA exhibit rapid adsorption to and desorption from phospholipid bilayers, influenced by their hydrophobicity and ionization state.
  • At physiological pH, a significant portion of FA exists in an un-ionized form that rapidly diffuses across lipid bilayers (flip-flops).
  • Cellular uptake of FA leads to cytosol acidification, supporting the flip-flop model over protein-dependent mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • The physical properties of FA suggest that protein transporters are not essential for their movement into cells.
  • FA transport is predominantly governed by lipid physical chemistry, with rapid transmembrane diffusion.
  • Cellular acidification upon FA uptake supports a model of passive diffusion rather than protein-mediated transport.