Description
Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are a class of cytoplasmic proteins that bind long chain fatty acids. FABPs are small intracellular proteins (~13-14 kDa) with a high degree of tissue specificity. They are abundantly present in various cell types and play an important role in the intracellular utilization of fatty acids, transport and metabolism. There are at least nine distinct types of FABP, each showing a specific pattern of tissue expression. Due to its small size, FABP leaks rapidly out of ischemically damaged necrotic cells leading to a rise in serum levels. Ischemically damaged tissues are characterized histologically by absence (or low presence) of FABP facilitating recognition of such areas. Intestinal FABP (I-FABP) is specifically localized in the epithelium cells of the small bowel. The I-FABP protein is derived from the human FABP2 gene. Normally, I-FABP is undetectable in serum. Many observations indicate that I-FABP is a useful biochemical marker for intestinal cell damage both in vivo and in vitro. Ischemically damaged cells are characterized histologically by absence (or low presence) of FABP facilitating recognition of areas of ischemically damaged cells