Proposed CLA-mediated signal transduction. The dietary lipid nutrient L (L = here CLA) crossing the cell membrane with the help of specific membrane-bound fatty acid transporters and binds to tissue-specific fatty acid binding protein (FABP) in the cytosol; 2. The L/FABP complex enters in to the nucleoplasm, where L is transferred to the specific peroxisome proliferators activated receptor (PPAR) subtype; 3. The L/PPAR complex heterodimerises with retinoic acid (RA)/retinoic acid receptor (RXR) subtype; 4. This heterodimer binds to the peroxisome proliferator responsive element (PPRE) on the target gene; and 5. Specific gene expression occurs, whose products act intra- or extracellularly to elicit a host of various biological functions