Twenty years have elapsed since cytoplasmic proteins exhibiting
high-affinity binding of long-chain fatty acids were first identified
(Ockner et al., Science 177:56-58, 1972). These cellular fatty
acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are now well established to comprise a
ligand-defined group of macromolecules belonging to a family of
cytoplasmic lipid binding proteins. Unique features of the FABPs are the
existence of distinct types of FABP and that these are found in a
variety of tissues in remarkable abundance, with some cells expressing
more than one type. The physiological significance of the FABPs has only
partly been elucidated. By increasing the cytoplasmic solubilization of
fatty acids, the cellular FABPs are considered to function primarily in
intracellular fatty acid transport, but may also be assigned important
regulatory roles in cellular lipid homeostasis as well as in the
modulation of cell growth and differentiation. The broad interests in
cellular FABPs has led to the organization of the 1st International
Workshop on Fatty Acid-Binding Protein, held in Maastricht, the
Netherlands, in 1989. Prompted by the success of the first meeting, the
2nd International Workshop on Fatty-Acid-Binding Proteins, which was
held again in Maastricht, on August 31 and September 1, 1992, brought
together scientific scpecialists in the field of FABP research for two
days of intensive and fruitful discussion. This volume is a collection
of selected papers from this conference, and thus provides the
state-of-the-art knowledge of cellular FABPs. The contributors to this
issue represent pioneering as well as new investigators, and also
reflect the multidisciplinary nature of research in this exciting and
rapidly progressing field.
