The Lipid Droplet – A Well-Connected Organelle

Our knowledge of inter-organellar communication has grown exponentially in recent years. This review focuses on the interactions that cytoplasmic lipid droplets have with other organelles. Twenty-five years ago droplets were considered simply particles of coalesced fat. Ten years ago there were h...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qiang eGao, Joel M Goodman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fcell.2015.00049/full
Description
Summary:Our knowledge of inter-organellar communication has grown exponentially in recent years. This review focuses on the interactions that cytoplasmic lipid droplets have with other organelles. Twenty-five years ago droplets were considered simply particles of coalesced fat. Ten years ago there were hints from proteomics studies that droplets might interact with other structures to share lipids and proteins. Now it is clear that the droplets interact with many if not most cellular structures to maintain cellular homeostasis and to buffer against insults such as starvation. The evidence for this statement, as well as probes to understand the nature and results of droplet interactions, are presented.
ISSN:2296-634X