Fabp5 - fatty acid binding protein 5, epidermal

The protein encoded by this gene is part of the fatty acid binding protein family (FABP). FABPs are a family of small, highly conserved, cytoplasmic proteins that bind long-chain fatty acids and other hydrophobic ligands and participate in fatty acid uptake, transport, and metabolism. In humans this gene has been associated with psoriasis and type 2 diabetes. In mouse deficiency of this gene in combination with a deficiency in Fabp4 confers protection against atherosclerosis, diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (the mouse model for multiple sclerosis). Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms. The mouse genome contains many pseudogenes similar to this locus. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2013]