Fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP-1) is a membrane associated protein, which facilitates the long chain fatty acids (LCFA) transport across the plasma membrane for the LCFA utilization and storage. In this study, the cDNA structure of porcine FATP-1 was investigated and the gene expression patterns of porcine FATP-1 in different tissues were tested by RT-PCR and Southern blot analysis. The results showed that there were five pFATP-1 mRNA species, namely, FATP-1a, FATP-1aV, FATP-1b, FATP-1c and FATP-1cV and are generated by alternative splicing of primary transcript. Deduced pFATP-1a protein showed 91.6% and 87.5% identities with those of human and rat. RT-PCR and Southern blot analysis demonstrated widespread tissue distribution of each pFATP-1 isoform mRNA, most abundantly in the brain, heart, lung, jejunum, testis, pancreas and trapezius muscle. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR revealed that pFATP-1 mRNA expressions in masseter and trapezius muscles were much higher than those in longissimus, gluteus medius and adipose tissues. These results suggested a crucial physiological role of pFATP-1 in fatty acid utilization in muscles, especially red muscles tissues, rather than fat storage in adipose tissues.

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