Fatty Acid Transport Protein 3 (FATP3)

The International Radiation Hybrid Mapping Consortium mapped the SLC27A3 gene to chromosome 1.Using an expression cloning strategy, Schaffer and Lodish (1994) identified a membrane protein, which they termed fatty acid transport protein, or FATP (SLC27A1), from murine adipocytes. FATP facilitates the uptake of long chain fatty acids. Hirsch et al. (1998) identified a large family of FATPs characterized by the presence of an FATP signature sequence. They identified 5 distinct FATPs in mouse and 6 different FATPs in human, which they designated FATP1 (SLC27A1), -2 (SLC27A2), -3 (SLC27A3), -4 (SLC27A4), -5 (SLC27A5 ), and -6 (SLC27A6). Human and mouse FATPs have unique expression patterns and are found in major organs of fatty acid metabolism, such as adipose tissue, liver, heart, and kidney.