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Updated: Jul 9, 2025
Isolation of Cellular Lipid Droplets: Two Purification Techniques Starting from Yeast Cells and Human Placentas
Published on: April 1, 2014
Mitochondria isolated from lipid droplets of white adipose tissue reveal functional differences based on lipid
Alexandra J Brownstein1,2, Michaela Veliova1, Rebeca Acin-Perez1
1David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Recent studies in brown adipose tissue (BAT) described a unique subpopulation of mitochondria bound to lipid droplets (LDs), which were termed PeriDroplet Mitochondria (PDM). PDM can be isolated from BAT by differential centrifugation and salt washes. Contrary to BAT, this approach has so far not led to the successful isolation of PDM from white adipose tissue (WAT). Here, we developed a method to isolate PDM from WAT with high yield and purity by an optimized proteolytic treatment that preserves the respiratory function of mitochondria. Using this approach, we show that, contrary to BAT, WAT PDM have lower respiratory and ATP synthesis capacities compared with WAT cytoplasmic mitochondria (CM). Furthermore, by isolating PDM from LDs of different sizes, we found a negative correlation between LD size and the respiratory capacity of their PDM in WAT. Thus, our new isolation method reveals tissue-specific characteristics of PDM and establishes the existence of heterogeneity in PDM function determined by LD size.
