Fatty acids articles within Nature

Featured

  • Letter |

    Acetyl-CoA carboxylases (ACCs) are large, multi-domain enzymes with crucial functions in fatty acid metabolism and are potential drug targets; here the X-ray crystal structure of the full-length, 500-kDa holoenzyme dimer of the ACC from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is solved and reveals an organization quite different from that of other biotin-dependent carboxylases.

    • Jia Wei
    •  & Liang Tong

  • Letter |

    Mitochondria have essential functions within cells, and their dysfunction is linked to various disorders; here, the fatty acid stearic acid (C18:0), which is a dietary component, and the transferrin receptor (TFR1) are shown to regulate mitochondrial function.

    • Deniz Senyilmaz
    • , Sam Virtue
    •  & Aurelio A. Teleman

  • Letter |

    The crystal structure of mouse SCD1 bound to fatty acid stearoyl-CoA is solved at 2.6 Å resolution; the structure reveals a novel geometry for the dimetal centre, and the acyl chain of the bound fatty acid is shown to be shielded and shaped to a particular conformation by the enzyme, providing a structural basis for the selectivity of fatty acid metabolism.

    • Yonghong Bai
    • , Jason G. McCoy
    •  & Ming Zhou

  • Article |

    This study identifies a crucial role for fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in endothelial cells during angiogenesis, and reveals that fatty-acid-derived carbons are used for the de novo synthesis of nucleotides, and hence FAO stimulates vessel sprouting by increasing endothelial cell proliferation.

    • Sandra Schoors
    • , Ulrike Bruning
    •  & Peter Carmeliet

  • Letter |

    A highly specific chemical crosslinking method is used to trap a complex between an acyl carrier protein and a fatty acid dehydratase during fatty acid biosynthesis; subsequent X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations techniques enable the detailed study of this complex.

    • Chi Nguyen
    • , Robert W. Haushalter
    •  & Michael D. Burkart

  • Letter |

    VEGF–B is shown to have an unexpected role in targeting lipids to peripheral tissues. VEGF–B controls endothelial uptake of fatty acids via transcriptional regulation of vascular fatty acid transport proteins. Bioinformatic analyses suggest that the uptake of these lipids is tightly coupled with lipid use by mitochondria. Mice that do not have VEGF–B accumulate less lipids in muscle, heart and brown adipose tissue, and instead shunt them to white adipose tissue.

    • Carolina E. Hagberg
    • , Annelie Falkevall
    •  & Ulf Eriksson

  • Brief Communications Arising |

    • Sophie Brinster
    • , Gilles Lamberet
    •  & Claire Poyart

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