Background：

The intracellular fatty acid-binding proteins belongs to a multigene family. FABPs are divided into at least three distinct types， namely the hepatic-， intestinal- and cardiac-type. They form 14-15 kDa proteins and are thought to participate in the uptake， intracellular metabolism and/or transport of long-chain fatty acids. They may also be responsible in the modulation of cell growth and proliferation. Fatty acid-binding protein 3 gene contains four exons and its function is to arrest growth of mammary epithelial cells. This gene is a candidate tumor suppressor gene for human breast cancer. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants.