Transport of long-chain fatty acids across the cell membrane has long been thought to occur
by passive diffusion. However, in recent years there has been a fundamental shift in
understanding, and it is now generally recognized that fatty acids cross the cell membrane
via a protein-mediated mechanism. Membrane-associated fatty acid-binding proteins ('fatty
acid transporters') not only facilitate but also regulate cellular fatty acid uptake, for instance
through their inducible rapid (and reversible) translocation from intracellular storage pools to …