Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid regulation of gene expression

This review describes the mechanisms by which polyunsaturated fatty acids regulate the activity of the nuclear transcription factors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1, and it describes the role that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 play in coordinating the regulation of lipid synthesis, lipid oxidation, and thermogenesis. Finally, the requirement for dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly n-3 fatty acids, is defined in terms of the effects polyunsaturated fatty acids exert on gene expression and the role that these effects play in overall energy balance. Curr Opin Lipidol 11:3-7. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.