Review
Function of lipid droplet-organelle interactions in lipid homeostasis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2017.04.001Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Lipid droplets (LDs) store metabolic energy in the form of neutral lipids.

  • Membrane contacts provide a route for bidirectional protein transport between LDs and the ER.

  • LD-ER contacts may be important for lipid traffic to and from LDs.

  • LD-vacuole/lysosome interactions mediate neutral lipid recycling during starvation.

  • LD-mitochondria/peroxisome associations may be required for efficient catabolism of fatty acids.

Abstract

Storage of non-polar lipids in ubiquitous eukaryotic organelles, lipid droplets (LDs), prevents the toxic consequences of unesterified fatty acids and provides a lipid reservoir that can be promptly used to satisfy cellular needs under multiple metabolic and physiological conditions. Tight temporal and spatial control of LD biogenesis and mobilization of neutral lipids is essential for the correct channelling of lipid intermediates to their various cellular destinations and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. These functions are mediated by multiple interactions between LDs and other intracellular organelles that are required for the delivery of stored lipids. Here we review recent advances in the interactions of LDs with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondria and vacuole/lysosome. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Contact Sites edited by Christian Ungermann and Benoit Kornmann.

Keywords

Lipid droplet
Endoplasmic reticulum membrane
Contact site
Triacylglycerol
Vacuole
Yeast

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This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Contact Sites edited by Christian Ungermann and Benoit Kornmann.