[The Integration and Regulation of Hormone-Sensitive Lipase in Reproductive System]

Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) has long been considered as a classical rate-limiting enzyme during lipolysis since it was first described in 1960s. HSL is regulated mainly by catecholamine, including adrenalin. Studies in recent years indicated that the substrates for HSL are not only triglycerides, but also diacylglycerol with the catalytic activity is ten times that of triglycerides, glycerol esters and cholesterol esters, which overthrow the opinion that HSL is specific to triglyceride. The scientists have generated HSL gene knockout mice and confirmed HSL is widely located in the reproductive system, which indicates that HSL may play an important role in the regulation of physiological and pathophysiological process in the reproductive system. Here, we will focus on the features of the HSL gene, mRNA and its protein, and summarize the HSL functions in the reproductive system.