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Review
. 2015 Aug 12:3:49.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2015.00049. eCollection 2015.

The lipid droplet-a well-connected organelle

Qiang Gao  1 , Joel M Goodman  1
Affiliations
Review

The lipid droplet-a well-connected organelle

Qiang Gao et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: endoplasmic reticulum; lipid droplet; mitochondria; organelle junction; protein trafficking.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The multitude of inter-organellar interactions involving lipid droplets are shown. See text for details.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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