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Updated: Oct 31, 2025

Lipid Droplet Isolation for Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Analysis
Published on: April 17, 2017
The role of lipid droplets in microbial pathogenesis
Jacobus T R Brink1, Ruan Fourie1, Olihile Sebolai1
1Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Abstract:
The nonpolar lipids present in cells are mainly triacylglycerols and steryl esters. When cells are provided with an abundance of nutrients, these storage lipids accumulate. As large quantities of nonpolar lipids cannot be integrated into membranes, they are isolated from the cytosolic environment in lipid droplets. As specialized, inducible cytoplasmic organelles, lipid droplets have functions beyond the regulation of lipid metabolism, in cell signalling and activation, membrane trafficking and control of inflammatory mediator synthesis and secretion. Pathogens, including fungi, viruses, parasites, or intracellular bacteria can induce and may benefit from lipid droplets in infected cells. Here we review biogenesis of lipid droplets as well as the role of lipid droplets in the pathogenesis of selected viruses, bacteria, protists and yeasts.
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