scholarly journals The Lipid Droplet Knowledge Portal: A resource for systematic analyses of lipid droplet biology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Mejhert ◽  
Katlyn R Gabriel ◽  
Natalie Krahmer ◽  
Leena Kuruvilla ◽  
Chandramohan Chitraju ◽  
...  

Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles of cellular lipid storage with fundamental roles in energy metabolism and cell membrane homeostasis. There has been an explosion of research into the biology of LDs, in part due to their relevance in diseases of lipid storage, such as atherosclerosis, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hepatic steatosis. Consequently, there is an increasing need for a resource that combines large datasets from systematic analyses of LD biology. Here we integrate high-confidence, systematically generated data on studies of LDs in the framework of an online platform named the Lipid Droplet Knowledge Portal. This scalable and interactive portal includes comprehensive datasets, across a variety of cell types, for LD biology, including transcriptional profiles of induced lipid storage, organellar proteomics, genome-wide screen phenotypes, and ties to human genetics. This new resource is a powerful platform that can be utilized to uncover new determinants of lipid storage.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela da Silva Xavier ◽  
Elisa A. Bellomo ◽  
James A. McGinty ◽  
Paul M. French ◽  
Guy A. Rutter

More than 65loci, encoding up to 500 different genes, have been implicated by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) as conferring an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Whilst mouse models have in the past been central to understanding the mechanisms through which more penetrant risk genes for T2D, for example, those responsible for neonatal or maturity-onset diabetes of the young, only a few of those identified by GWAS, notablyTCF7L2andZnT8/SLC30A8, have to date been examined in mouse models. We discuss here the animal models available for the latter genes and provide perspectives for future, higher throughput approaches towards efficiently mining the information provided by human genetics.


eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Lumaquin ◽  
Eleanor Johns ◽  
Emily Montal ◽  
Joshua M Weiss ◽  
David Ola ◽  
...  

Lipid droplets are lipid storage organelles found in nearly all cell types from adipocytes to cancer cells. Although increasingly implicated in disease, current methods to study lipid droplets in vertebrate models rely on static imaging or the use of fluorescent dyes, limiting investigation of their rapid in vivo dynamics. To address this, we created a lipid droplet transgenic reporter in whole animals and cell culture by fusing tdTOMATO to Perilipin-2 (PLIN2), a lipid droplet structural protein. Expression of this transgene in transparent casper zebrafish enabled in vivo imaging of adipose depots responsive to nutrient deprivation and high-fat diet. Simultaneously, we performed a large-scale in vitro chemical screen of 1280 compounds and identified several novel regulators of lipolysis in adipocytes. Using our Tg(-3.5ubb:plin2-tdTomato) zebrafish line, we validated several of these novel regulators and revealed an unexpected role for nitric oxide in modulating adipocyte lipid droplets. Similarly, we expressed the PLIN2-tdTOMATO transgene in melanoma cells and found that the nitric oxide pathway also regulated lipid droplets in cancer. This model offers a tractable imaging platform to study lipid droplets across cell types and disease contexts using chemical, dietary, or genetic perturbations.


Endocrinology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 942-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole A. Ducharme ◽  
Perry E. Bickel

Organisms store energy for later use during times of nutrient scarcity. Excess energy is stored as triacylglycerol in lipid droplets during lipogenesis. When energy is required, the stored triacylglycerol is hydrolyzed via activation of lipolytic pathways. The coordination of lipid storage and utilization is regulated by the perilipin family of lipid droplet coat proteins [perilipin, adipophilin/adipocyte differentiation-related protein (ADRP), S3-12, tail-interacting protein of 47 kilodaltons (TIP47), and myocardial lipid droplet protein (MLDP)/oxidative tissues-enriched PAT protein (OXPAT)/lipid storage droplet protein 5 (LSDP5)]. Lipid droplets are dynamic and heterogeneous in size, location, and protein content. The proteins that coat lipid droplets change during lipid droplet biogenesis and are dependent upon multiple factors, including tissue-specific expression and metabolic state (basal vs. lipogenic vs. lipolytic). New data suggest that proteins previously implicated in vesicle trafficking, including Rabs, soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), and motor and cytoskeletal proteins, likely orchestrate the movement and fusion of lipid droplets. Thus, rather than inert cytoplasmic inclusions, lipid droplets are now appreciated as dynamic organelles that are critical for management of cellular lipid stores. That much remains to be discovered is suggested by the recent identification of a novel lipase [adipocyte triglyceride lipase (ATGL)] and lipase regulator [Comparative Gene Identification-58 (CGI-58)], which has led to reconsideration of the decades-old model of lipolysis. Future discovery likely will be driven by the exploitation of model organisms and by human genetic studies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 797-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Pullen ◽  
Guy A. Rutter

The progression of Type 2 diabetes is accompanied by diminishing islet β-cell mass and function. It has been proposed that β-cells are lost not only through apoptosis, but also by dedifferentiating into progenitor-like cells. There is therefore much interest in the mechanisms which define and maintain β-cell identity. The advent of genome-wide analyses of chromatin modifications has highlighted the role of epigenetic factors in determining cell identity. There is also evidence from both human populations and animal models for an epigenetic component in susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms responsible for defining the epigenetic landscape in individual cell types are poorly understood, but there is growing evidence of a role for lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) in this process. In the present paper, we discuss some of the mechanisms through which lncRNAs may contribute to β-cell identity and Type 2 diabetes risk.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Anderson-Baron ◽  
Kazuki Ueda ◽  
Julie Haskins ◽  
Sarah C Hughes ◽  
Andrew Simmonds

The activity of multiple organelles must be coordinated to ensure cellular lipid homeostasis. This includes the peroxisomes which metabolise certain lipids and lipid droplets which act as neutral lipid storage centres. Direct organellar contact between peroxisomes and lipid droplets has been observed, and interaction between proteins associated with the membranes of these organelles has been shown, but the functional role of these interactions is not clear. In Drosophila cells, we identified a novel localization of a subset of three transmembrane Peroxin proteins (Peroxin3, Peroxin13, and Peroxin14), normally required for peroxisome biogenesis, to newly formed lipid droplets. This event was not linked to significant changes in peroxisome size or number, nor was recruitment of other Peroxin proteins or mature peroxisomes observed. The presence of these Peroxin proteins at lipid droplets influences their function as changes in the relative levels of Peroxin14 associated with the lipid droplet surface directly affected the presence of regulatory perilipin and lipases with corresponding effects on triglyceride storage.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Lumaquin ◽  
Eleanor Johns ◽  
Joshua Weiss ◽  
Emily Montal ◽  
Olayinka Ooladipupo ◽  
...  

AbstractLipid droplets are lipid storage organelles found in nearly all cell types from adipocytes to cancer cells. Although increasingly implicated in disease, current methods to study lipid droplets require fixation or static imaging which limits investigation of their rapid in vivo dynamics. To address this, we created a lipid droplet transgenic reporter in whole animals and cell culture by fusing tdTOMATO to Perilipin-2 (PLIN2), a lipid droplet structural protein. Expression of this transgene in transparent casper zebrafish enabled in vivo imaging of adipose depots responsive to nutrient deprivation and high-fat diet. Using this system, we tested novel regulators of lipolysis, revealing an unexpected role for nitric oxide in modulating adipocyte lipid droplets. Similarly, we expressed the PLIN2-tdTOMATO transgene in melanoma cells and found that the nitric oxide pathway also regulated lipid droplets in cancer. This model offers a tractable imaging platform to study lipid droplets across cell types and disease contexts.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Dalhaimer

Lipid droplets (LDs) are a crucial part of lipid storage; thus, they are important players in a variety of diseases that are affected by lipid imbalances such as obesity, fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer [...]


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