Imaging of Lipid Biosynthesis: How a Neutral Lipid Enters Lipid Droplets
Abstract
The biosynthesis and storage of triglyceride (TG) is an important cellular process conserved from yeast to man. Most mammalian cells accumulate TG in lipid droplets, most prominent in adipocytes, which are specialized to store large amounts of the TG over long periods. In this study, we followed TG biosynthesis and targeting by fluorescence imaging in living 3T3-L1 adipocytes and COS7 fibroblasts. Key findings were (i) not only TG but also its direct metabolic precursor diacylglycerol, DG, accumulates on lipid droplets; (ii) the essential enzyme diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 associates specifically with lipid droplets where it catalyzes the conversion of DG to TG and (iii) individual lipid droplets within one cell acquire TG at very different rates, suggesting unequal access to the biosynthetic machinery. We conclude that at least part of TG biosynthesis takes place in the immediate vicinity of lipid droplets. In vitro assays on purified lipid droplets show that this fraction of the biosynthetic TG is directly inserted into the growing droplet.
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DGAT2 is localized around lipid droplets where it is required for triacylglycerol synthesis.
“DGAT2 is localized around LDs where it is required for TG synthesis51,52,53.”
From Amyloid-β induces lipid droplet-mediated microglial dysfunction via the enzyme DGAT2 in Alzheimer’s disease (2025) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- Kuerschner, L., Moessinger, C., & Thiele, C.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Thiele, Christoph
- Venue
- Traffic
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-12-11
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 338-352
- ISSN
- 1398-9219 (ISSN-L)
- 1600-0854
- OpenAlex
- W2073162567
- Cited by
- 411
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 10.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Traffic (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Lipid metabolism and disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism
- Keywords
- lipid droplets, triglyceride synthesis, diacylglycerol, diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2, lipid droplet targeting, adipocytes, 3T3-L1 adipocytes, fat deposition, live-cell imaging
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Biological Transport, Active, Chlorocebus aethiops, Diglycerides, Fluorescent Dyes, Humans, Lipids, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Models, Biological, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Triglycerides, Microscopy, Immunoelectron, Adipocytes, COS Cells, 3T3-L1 Cells, Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase, Mice
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