Figure 1.
Metabolic fates of long-chain fatty acids. Long-chain fatty acids from exogenous or endogenous sources are activated to acyl-CoAs by one of 13 acyl-CoA synthetase isoforms. The free fatty acids are ligands for nuclear transcription factors and 20-carbon fatty acids can be converted to a variety of signaling eicosanoids. The acyl-CoAs are transcriptional ligands, substrates for β- and ω-oxidation, and can be incorporated into complex lipids or used to modify proteins. ACS, acyl-CoA synthetase; EET, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; FA, fatty acid; HETE, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor.