scholarly journals Lipid droplets form a network interconnected by the endoplasmic reticulum through which they equilibrate their proteins

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Cottier ◽  
Roger Schneiter
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Zygote Formation ◽  
Protein Transfer ◽  
Mating Partner ◽  
Functional Connection ◽  
Yeast Mating ◽  
Er Membrane

Lipid droplets (LDs) are globular intracellular structures dedicated to the storage of neutral lipids. They are closely associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are delineated by a monolayer of phospholipids that is continuous with the cytoplasmic leaflet of the ER membrane. LDs contain a specific set of proteins, but how these proteins are targeted to the LD surface is not fully understood. Here we devised a yeast mating-based microscopic readout to monitor the transfer of LD proteins upon zygote formation. The results of this analysis indicate that ER fusion between mating partners is required for transfer of LD proteins and that this transfer is continuous, bidirectional and affects most LDs simultaneously. These observations suggest that LDs do not fuse upon mating of yeast cells, but that they form a network that is interconnected through the ER membrane. Consistent with this, ER-localized LD proteins rapidly move onto LDs of a mating partner and this protein transfer is affected by seipin, a protein important for proper LD biogenesis and the functional connection of LDs with the ER membrane.

scholarly journals Multiple C2 domain-containing transmembrane proteins promote lipid droplet biogenesis and growth at specialized ER subdomains

2021 ◽  
pp. mbc.E20-09-0590
Author(s):  
Amit S. Joshi ◽  
Joey V. Ragusa ◽  
William A. Prinz ◽  
Sarah Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Transmembrane Proteins ◽  
C2 Domain ◽  
General Role ◽  
C2 Domains ◽  
Contact Sites ◽  
Er Membrane

Lipid droplets (LDs) are neutral lipid-containing organelles enclosed in a single monolayer of phospholipids. LD formation begins with the accumulation of neutral lipids within the bilayer of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. It is not known how the sites of formation of nascent LDs in the ER membrane are determined. Here we show that multiple C2 domain-containing transmembrane proteins, MCTP1 and MCTP2, are at sites of LD formation in specialized ER subdomains. We show that the transmembrane domain (TMD) of these proteins is similar to a reticulon homology domain. Like reticulons, these proteins tubulate the ER membrane and favor highly curved regions of the ER. Our data indicate that the MCTP TMDs promote LD biogenesis, increasing LD number. MCTPs co-localize with seipin, a protein involved in LD biogenesis, but form more stable microdomains in the ER. The MCTP C2 domains bind charged lipids and regulate LD size, likely by mediating ER-LD contact sites. Together, our data indicate that MCTPs form microdomains within ER tubules that regulate LD biogenesis, size, and ER-LD contacts. Interestingly, MCTP punctae colocalized with other organelles as well, suggesting that these proteins may play a more general role in linking tubular ER to organelle contact sites. [Media: see text] [Media: see text]

scholarly journals Yeast Cells Exposed to Exogenous Palmitoleic Acid Either Adapt to Stress and Survive or Commit to Regulated Liponecrosis and Die

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karamat Mohammad ◽  
Paméla Dakik ◽  
Younes Medkour ◽  
Mélissa McAuley ◽  
Darya Mitrofanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Palmitoleic Acid ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Regulated Cell Death

A disturbed homeostasis of cellular lipids and the resulting lipotoxicity are considered to be key contributors to many human pathologies, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been successfully used for uncovering molecular mechanisms through which impaired lipid metabolism causes lipotoxicity and elicits different forms of regulated cell death. Here, we discuss mechanisms of the “liponecrotic” mode of regulated cell death in S. cerevisiae. This mode of regulated cell death can be initiated in response to a brief treatment of yeast with exogenous palmitoleic acid. Such treatment prompts the incorporation of exogenously added palmitoleic acid into phospholipids and neutral lipids. This orchestrates a global remodeling of lipid metabolism and transfer in the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, lipid droplets, and the plasma membrane. Certain features of such remodeling play essential roles either in committing yeast to liponecrosis or in executing this mode of regulated cell death. We also outline four processes through which yeast cells actively resist liponecrosis by adapting to the cellular stress imposed by palmitoleic acid and maintaining viability. These prosurvival cellular processes are confined in the endoplasmic reticulum, lipid droplets, peroxisomes, autophagosomes, vacuoles, and the cytosol.

scholarly journals Septin-dependent compartmentalization of the endoplasmic reticulum during yeast polarized growth

2005 ◽  
Vol 169 (6) ◽  
pp. 897-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosima Luedeke ◽  
Stéphanie Buvelot Frei ◽  
Ivo Sbalzarini ◽  
Heinz Schwarz ◽  
Anne Spang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Diffusion Barriers ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Protein Diffusion ◽  
Ultrastructural Studies ◽  
Bud Neck ◽  
Er Membrane

Polarized cells frequently use diffusion barriers to separate plasma membrane domains. It is unknown whether diffusion barriers also compartmentalize intracellular organelles. We used photobleaching techniques to characterize protein diffusion in the yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Although a soluble protein diffused rapidly throughout the ER lumen, diffusion of ER membrane proteins was restricted at the bud neck. Ultrastructural studies and fluorescence microscopy revealed the presence of a ring of smooth ER at the bud neck. This ER domain and the restriction of diffusion for ER membrane proteins through the bud neck depended on septin function. The membrane-associated protein Bud6 localized to the bud neck in a septin-dependent manner and was required to restrict the diffusion of ER membrane proteins. Our results indicate that Bud6 acts downstream of septins to assemble a fence in the ER membrane at the bud neck. Thus, in polarized yeast cells, diffusion barriers compartmentalize the ER and the plasma membrane along parallel lines.

scholarly journals A conserved family of proteins facilitates nascent lipid droplet budding from the ER

2015 ◽  
Vol 211 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vineet Choudhary ◽  
Namrata Ojha ◽  
Andy Golden ◽  
William A. Prinz
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Lipid Droplet ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Fat Storage ◽  
Higher Eukaryotes ◽  
Er Membrane

Lipid droplets (LDs) are found in all cells and play critical roles in lipid metabolism. De novo LD biogenesis occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but is not well understood. We imaged early stages of LD biogenesis using electron microscopy and found that nascent LDs form lens-like structures that are in the ER membrane, raising the question of how these nascent LDs bud from the ER as they grow. We found that a conserved family of proteins, fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT) proteins, is required for proper budding of LDs from the ER. Elimination or reduction of FIT proteins in yeast and higher eukaryotes causes LDs to remain in the ER membrane. Deletion of the single FIT protein in Caenorhabditis elegans is lethal, suggesting that LD budding is an essential process in this organism. Our findings indicated that FIT proteins are necessary to promote budding of nascent LDs from the ER.

scholarly journals In Close Proximity: The Lipid Droplet Proteome and Crosstalk With the Endoplasmic Reticulum

Contact ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 251525641876899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirill Bersuker ◽  
James A. Olzmann
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
26S Proteasome ◽  
High Confidence ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
A Site ◽  
High Degree

Lipid droplets (LDs) are conserved, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived organelles that act as a dynamic cellular repository for neutral lipids. Numerous studies have examined the composition of LD proteomes by using mass spectrometry to identify proteins present in biochemically isolated buoyant fractions that are enriched in LDs. Although many bona fide LD proteins were identified, high levels of non-LD proteins that contaminate buoyant fractions complicate the detection of true LD proteins. To overcome this problem, we recently developed a proximity-labeling proteomic method to define high-confidence LD proteomes. Moreover, employing this approach, we discovered that ER-associated degradation impacts the composition of LD proteomes by targeting select LD proteins for clearance by the 26S proteasome as they transit between the ER and LDs. These findings implicate the ER as a site of LD protein degradation and underscore the high degree of crosstalk between ER and LDs.

scholarly journals The yeast lipin orthologue Pah1p is important for biogenesis of lipid droplets

2011 ◽  
Vol 192 (6) ◽  
pp. 1043-1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oludotun Adeyo ◽  
Patrick J. Horn ◽  
SungKyung Lee ◽  
Derk D. Binns ◽  
Anita Chandrahas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Neutral Lipid ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Glucose Medium ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Lipid Levels ◽  
Total Neutral Lipid ◽  
A Site

Lipins are phosphatidate phosphatases that generate diacylglycerol (DAG). In this study, we report that yeast lipin, Pah1p, controls the formation of cytosolic lipid droplets. Disruption of PAH1 resulted in a 63% decrease in droplet number, although total neutral lipid levels did not change. This was accompanied by an accumulation of neutral lipids in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The droplet biogenesis defect was not a result of alterations in neutral lipid ratios. No droplets were visible in the absence of both PAH1 and steryl acyltransferases when grown in glucose medium, even though the strain produces as much triacylglycerol as wild type. The requirement of PAH1 for normal droplet formation can be bypassed by a knockout of DGK1. Nem1p, the activator of Pah1p, localizes to a single punctum per cell on the ER that is usually next to a droplet, suggesting that it is a site of droplet assembly. Overall, this study provides strong evidence that DAG generated by Pah1p is important for droplet biogenesis.

scholarly journals A Unique Junctional Interface at Contact Sites Between the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Lipid Droplets

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vineet Choudhary ◽  
Roger Schneiter
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Lipid Storage ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Lipid Monolayer ◽  
Storage Diseases ◽  
Contact Sites ◽  
Ordered Assembly

Lipid droplets (LDs) constitute compartments dedicated to the storage of metabolic energy in the form of neutral lipids. LDs originate from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with which they maintain close contact throughout their life cycle. These ER–LD junctions facilitate the exchange of both proteins and lipids between these two compartments. In recent years, proteins that are important for the proper formation of LDs and localize to ER–LD junctions have been identified. This junction is unique as it is generally believed to invoke a transition from the ER bilayer membrane to a lipid monolayer that delineates LDs. Proper formation of this junction requires the ordered assembly of proteins and lipids at specialized ER subdomains. Without such a well-ordered assembly of LD biogenesis factors, neutral lipids are synthesized throughout the ER membrane, resulting in the formation of aberrant LDs. Such ectopically formed LDs impact ER and lipid homeostasis, resulting in different types of lipid storage diseases. In response to starvation, the ER–LD junction recruits factors that tether the vacuole to these junctions to facilitate LD degradation. In addition, LDs maintain close contacts with peroxisomes and mitochondria for metabolic channeling of the released fatty acids toward beta-oxidation. In this review, we discuss the function of different components that ensure proper functioning of LD contact sites, their role in lipogenesis and lipolysis, and their relation to lipid storage diseases.

scholarly journals Lecithin:Retinol Acyl Transferase (LRAT) induces the formation of lipid droplets

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn R. Molenaar ◽  
Tsjerk A. Wassenaar ◽  
Kamlesh K. Yadav ◽  
Alexandre Toulmay ◽  
Muriel C. Mari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Acyl Transferase ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Retinyl Ester ◽  
Steryl Esters ◽  
Retinyl Esters

AbstractLipid droplets are unique and nearly ubiquitous organelles that store neutral lipids in a hydrophobic core, surrounded by a monolayer of phospholipids. The primary neutral lipids are triacylglycerols and steryl esters. It is not known whether other classes of neutral lipids can form lipid droplets by themselves. Here we show that production of retinyl esters by lecithin:retinol acyl transferase (LRAT) in yeast cells, incapable of producing triacylglycerols and steryl esters, causes the formation of lipid droplets. By electron microscopy, these lipid droplets are morphologically indistinguishable from those in wild-type cells. In silico and in vitro experiments confirmed the propensity of retinyl esters to segregate from membranes and to form lipid droplets. The hydrophobic N-terminus of LRAT displays preferential interactions with retinyl esters in membranes and promotes the formation of large retinyl ester-containing lipid droplets in mammalian cells. Our combined data indicate that the molecular design of LRAT is optimally suited to allow the formation of characteristic large lipid droplets in retinyl ester-storing cells.

scholarly journals Motility Plays an Important Role in the Lifetime of Mammalian Lipid Droplets

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3802
Author(s):  
Yi Jin ◽  
Zhuqing Ren ◽  
Yanjie Tan ◽  
Pengxiang Zhao ◽  
Jian Wu
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Lipid Droplet ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Resistance To Stress

The lipid droplet is a kind of organelle that stores neutral lipids in cells. Recent studies have found that in addition to energy storage, lipid droplets also play an important role in biological processes such as resistance to stress, immunity, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and signal transduction. Lipid droplets are formed at the endoplasmic reticulum, and mature lipid droplets participate in various cellular processes. Lipid droplets are decomposed by lipase and lysosomes. In the life of a lipid droplet, the most important thing is to interact with other organelles, including the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and autophagic lysosomes. The interaction between lipid droplets and other organelles requires them to be close to each other, which inevitably involves the motility of lipid droplets. In fact, through many microscopic observation techniques, researchers have discovered that lipid droplets are highly dynamic organelles that move quickly. This paper reviews the process of lipid droplet motility, focusing on explaining the molecular basis of lipid droplet motility, the factors that regulate lipid droplet motility, and the influence of motility on the formation and decomposition of lipid droplets. In addition, this paper also proposes several unresolved problems for lipid droplet motility. Finally, this paper makes predictions about the future research of lipid droplet motility.

scholarly journals Seipin accumulates and traps diacylglycerols and triglycerides in its ring-like structure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Zoni ◽  
Wataru Shinoda ◽  
Stefano Vanni
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Intracellular Organelles ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Precise Role

AbstractLipid droplets (LD) are intracellular organelles responsible for lipid storage, and they emerge from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) upon the accumulation of neutral lipids, mostly triglycerides (TG), between the two leaflets of the ER membrane. LD biogenesis takes place at ER sites that are marked by the protein seipin, which subsequently recruits additional proteins to catalyse LD formation. Deletion of seipin, however, does not abolish LD biogenesis, and its precise role in controlling LD assembly remains unclear. Here we use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the molecular mechanism through which seipin promotes LD formation. We find that seipin clusters TG molecules inside its unconventional ring-like oligomeric structure, and that both its luminal and transmembrane regions contribute to this process. Diacylglycerol, the precursor of TG, also clusters inside the seipin oligomer, in turn promoting TG accumulation. Our results suggest that seipin remodels the membrane of specific ER sites to prime them for LD biogenesis.Significance statementMetabolic disorders related to aberrant fat accumulation, including lipodystrophy and obesity, are a particularly serious health concern. In cells, fat accumulates in intracellular organelles, named lipid droplets (LDs). LDs form in the endoplasmic reticulum, where triglycerides, the most abundant form of fat, is produced. The Bernardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy type 2 protein, seipin, has been identified as a key regulator of LD formation, but its mechanism of action remains debated and its molecular details mostly obscure. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the mechanism of seipin. We find that seipin can cluster and trap both triglycerides and its precursor, diacylglycerol. Our results suggest that seipin organizes the lipid composition of specific ER sites to prime them for LD biogenesis.

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