Tan JSY, Seow CJP, Goh VJ, Silver DL. Recent advances in understanding proteins involved in lipid droplet formation, growth and fusion.
J Genet Genomics 2014;
41:251-9. [PMID:
24894352 DOI:
10.1016/j.jgg.2014.03.003]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2013] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Lipid droplets (LDs) were once viewed as simple, inert lipid micelles. However, they are now known to be organelles with a rich proteome involved in a myriad of cellular processes. LDs are heterogeneous in nature with different sizes and compositions of phospholipids, neutral lipids and proteins. This review takes a focused look at the roles of proteins involved in the regulation of LD formation, expansion, and morphology. The related proteins are summarized such as the fat-specific protein (Fsp27), fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT) proteins, seipin and ADP-ribosylation factor 1-coat protein complex I (Arf-COPI). Finally, we present important challenges in LD biology for a deeper understanding of this dynamic organelle to be achieved.
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