噬脂细胞对自噬和脂类新陈代谢的作用

Effects of lipophagy on autophagy and lipid metabolism

脂肪滴最初被认为是＂惰性＂的脂质沉积。在过去的10年里,胞质细胞器的分类主要是对特定细胞功能的组成和多样性进行定义的。脂肪滴作为细胞器,对脂肪进行管理和调节,最近有研究发现自噬是通过噬脂的过程对新陈代谢的变化进行管理的。文章主要关注选择性自噬过程,通过这个过程调动细胞内的脂质从而对细胞产生影响。噬脂细胞直接通过脂质分解影响细胞的能量平衡,同时也间接地通过调节食物摄入量来影响细胞能量平衡。噬脂细胞缺失与脂肪肝、肥胖症、动脉硬化以及随年龄增加而产生的自噬症等代谢紊乱性疾病都密切相关。

Lipid droplets（ LDs）,initially considered＂inert＂lipid deposits,have gained during the last decade the classification of cytosolic organelles due to their defined composition and the multiplicity of specific cellular functions in which they are involved. The classification of LD as organelles brings along the need for their regulated turnover and recent findings support the direct contribution of autophagy to this turnover through a process now described as lipophagy. This paper focuses on the characteristics of this new type of selective autophagy and the cellular consequences of the mobilization of intracellular lipids through this process. Lipophagy not only directly affect the cellular energy balance through lipid decomposition,but also indirectly affect the energy balance of cells by regulating food intake. Defective lipophagy has been already associated with important metabolic disorders such as fatty liver,obesity,atherosclerosis,age-dependent decrease in autophagy and metabolic syndrome in the elderly.