Lysosome/lipid droplet interplay in metabolic diseases

Lysosomes and lipid droplets are generally considered as intracellular compartments with divergent roles in cell metabolism, lipid droplets serving as lipid reservoirs in anabolic pathways, whereas lysosomes are specialized in the catabolism of intracellular components. During the last few years, new insights in the biology of lysosomes has challenged this view by providing evidence for the importance of lysosome recycling as a sparing mechanism to maintain cellular fitness. On the other hand the understanding of lipid droplets has evolved from an inert intracellular deposit toward the status of an intracellular organelle with dynamic roles in cellular homeostasis beyond storage. These unrelated aspects have also recently converged in the finding of unexpected lipid droplet/lysosome communication through autophagy, and the discovery of lysosome-mediated lipid droplet degradation called lipopagy. Furthermore, adipocytes which are professional cells for lipid droplet formation were also shown to be active in peptide antigen presentation a pathway requiring lysosomal activity. The potential importance of lipid droplet/lysosome interplay is discussed in the context of metabolic diseases and the setting of chronic inflammation.