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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Nuria Martinez Lopez, Professor Rajat Singh
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Autophagy maintains cellular quality control by degrading organelles, and cytosolic proteins and their aggregates in lysosomes. Autophagy also degrades lipid droplets (LD) through a process termed lipophagy. During lipophagy, LD are sequestered within autophagosomes and degraded by lysosomal acid lipases to generate free fatty acids that are -oxidized for energy. Lipophagy was discovered in hepatocytes, and since then has been shown to function in diverse cell types. Whether lipophagy degrades LD in the major fat storing cellthe adipocyteremained unclear. We have found that blocking autophagy in brown adipose tissues (BAT) by deleting the autophagy gene Atg7 in BAT MYF5 (myogenic factor 5)-positive progenitors increases basal lipid content in BAT and decreases lipid utilization during cold exposureindicating that lipophagy contributes to lipohomeostasis in the adipose tissue. Surprisingly, knocking out Atg7 in hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons also blocks lipophagy in BAT and liver suggesting that specific neurons within the central nervous system (CNS) exert telemetric control over lipophagy in BAT and liver.
Author(s): Martinez-Lopez N, Singh R
Publication type: Editorial
Publication status: Published
Journal: Autophagy
Year: 2016
Volume: 12
Issue: 8
Pages: 1404-1405
Print publication date: 01/01/2016
Online publication date: 24/06/2016
Acceptance date: 27/04/2016
ISSN (print): 1554-8627
ISSN (electronic): 1554-8635
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2016.1185578
DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2016.1185578
