**2. Role of lipids in transcriptional regulation**

Lipids are conventionally known as an important constituent of the biological membranes and as a signaling molecule in the cytoplasm. The presence of lipids in the nucleus and identification of phosphotidylinositol (PtdIns)-4-kinse activity in the preparation that were enriched in nuclear membranes (Smith and Wells, 1983a; b), and identification of PtdIns-4 phosphate and PtdIns-4,5-bisphosphate that were differentially metabolized from lipids in the cytoplasm provided early evidence for the nuclear lipid signaling (Irvine, 2003). A recent study by Lee et al., explores the nuclear activities of lipids, showing that dilauroyl phosphotidlycholine controls transcriptional program through nuclear-receptor dependent pathway (Ingraham, 2011; Lee et al., 2011). The study was of particular interest as phosphotidylcholine reversed some of the consequences of high-fat diet feeding (Lee et al., 2011), which is known to promote the cellular proliferation, contractility and overall enlargement of the prostate in rodents (Vikram et al., 2010c). The nuclear signaling and transcriptional regulation by lipids implies that targeting nuclear lipid signaling might be of value in finding the answers for the diseases associated with dietary habit and sedentary lifestyle such as insulin-resistance, type 2 diabetes, several cancers and BPH.
