Description
A long-chain saturated fatty acid; comprises ~25 and 65% of the human total plasma lipids and saturated fatty acids, respectively; acylation of palmitic acid to proteins facilitates anchoring of membrane-bound proteins to the lipid bilayer and trafficking of intracellular proteins, promotes protein-vesicle interactions, and regulates various G protein-coupled receptor functions; increases NF-ĸB p65 levels, MMP-9 activity, and production of ROS in in AsPC-1 pancreatic cancer cells, as well as increases migration of AsPC-1 cells at 200 µM; increases COX-2 levels in RAW 264.7 cells and increases LPS-induced IL-1β levels and caspase-1 activity in isolated mouse peritoneal macrophages; increases mouse hippocampal BACE1 activity and Aβ42 levels in mice at 2.2% w/w for 12 weeks in the diet; induces systolic contractile dysfunction in isolated mouse hearts; red blood cell palmitic acid levels are increased in patients with metabolic syndrome compared to patients without metabolic syndrome and are also increased in the plasma of patients with type 2 diabetes compared to individuals without diabetes