OXPAT: Proteins and Enzymes

OXPAT is a novel PAT-1 protein that is expressed in highly oxidative tissues. Lipid droplet proteins of the PAT family regulate cellular neutral lipid stores. OXPAT is induced by physiological (fasting), pathophysiological (insulin deficiency), pharmacological (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [PPAR] agonists), and genetic (muscle-specific PPAR alpha overexpression) disturbances that increase fatty acid utilization. It is suggested that OXPAT is a marker for PPAR activation and fatty acid oxidation. OXPAT may also contribute to adaptive responses to the fatty acid responsibility that accompanies fasting, insulin deficiency, and overnutrition responses that are defective in obesity and type 2 diabetes.