Review of role of fatty acid binding protein-4 in obesity-associated tumors

Abstract

Obesity is one of the major factors threatening human health. Excessive fat accumulation not only has detrimental effects on human metabolism and cardiovascular system, but also is highly correlated to the incidence and mortality of various tumors. Fatty acid binding protein-4 (FABP4) is a small molecule protein mainly expressed in adipocytes and macrophages, and is responsible for participating in fatty acid transport and lipid response. It has been found that FABP4 levels are not only associated with body fat content, but also aberrantly expressed in various obesity-associated tumor cells and tumor microenvironment, which is closely related to obesity-associated carcinogenesis, metastasis, recurrence and patient prognosis. Since FABP4 expression varies in different types of obesity-associated tumors, suggesting a complex role of FABP4 in tumorigenesis. Based on this, this article reviews different roles of FABP4 in multiple obesity-associated tumors.

Keywords

• fatty acid binding protein-4 (fabp4)
• obesity-associated tumor
• adipocyte
• adipocytokine
• tumor microenvironment