The protein encoded by this gene is a brain fatty acid binding protein. Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are a family of small, highly conserved, cytoplasmic proteins that bind long-chain fatty acids and other hydrophobic ligands. FABPs are thought to play roles in fatty acid uptake, transport, and metabolism.[5]
According to one study, FABP7 binds DHA with the highest affinity among all of the FABPs.[8]
Expression of Fabp7 protein in mouse brains at embryonic day 16 (left) and postnatal day 0 (right). At both stages, Fabp7 is strongly expressed in the ventricular zone and radial glia, where neurogenesis is prominent.
Role in pathology
FABP7 maps onto human chromosome 6q22.31, a schizophrenia linkage region corroborated by a meta-analysis.[9]
As of 2008, two studies have been conducted into FABP7 as a possible risk gene for schizophrenia,[10] with one, that tested for only one SNP, showing negative[11] and another, with seven SNPs,[12] a positive result. The effect of the gene in the latter study was stronger in males. This study also linked FABP7 variation to weak prepulse inhibition in mice; deficit in PPI is an endophenotypic trait observed in schizophrenia patients and their relatives.
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Shimizu F, Watanabe TK, Shinomiya H, Nakamura Y, Fujiwara T (Oct 1997). "Isolation and expression of a cDNA for human brain fatty acid-binding protein (B-FABP)". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Structure and Expression. 1354 (1): 24–8. doi:10.1016/S0167-4781(97)00115-2. PMID9375786.
Rademacher M, Zimmerman AW, Rüterjans H, Veerkamp JH, Lücke C (Oct 2002). "Solution structure of fatty acid-binding protein from human brain". Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. 239 (1–2): 61–8. doi:10.1023/A:1020566909213. PMID12479569. S2CID24296178.
