Fatty acid binding protein 6, ileal (gastrotropin), also known as FABP6, is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 which in humans is encoded by the FABP6 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

This gene encodes the ileal

Ileum

The ileum is the final section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms posterior intestine or distal intestine may be used instead of ileum.The ileum follows the duodenum...

 fatty acid binding protein. Fatty acid binding proteins are a family of small, highly conserved, cytoplasmic proteins that bind long-chain fatty acid

Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have a chain of an even number of carbon atoms, from 4 to 28. Fatty acids are usually derived from...

s and other hydrophobic ligands. FABP6 and FABP1

FABP1

Fatty acid-binding protein 1 also known as liver-type fatty acid-binding protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FABP1 gene.- Function :FABP1 encodes the fatty acid-binding protein found in liver...

 (the liver fatty acid binding protein) are also able to bind bile acid

Bile acid

Bile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals. Bile salts are bile acids compounded with a cation, usually sodium. In humans, the salts of taurocholic acid and glycocholic acid represent approximately eighty percent of all bile salts. The two major bile acids are cholic...

s. It is thought that FABPs roles include fatty acid uptake, transport, and metabolism. Transcript variants generated by alternate transcription promoters and/or alternate splicing have been found for this gene.

Further reading