Lipophagy in immune cells and immune response modulation: Mechanisms and therapeutic potential

Lipophagy, a selective autophagy pathway targeting LDs, has emerged as a crucial regulator of immune cell function and immune response modulation. By degrading LDs, lipophagy provides essential energy to immune cells, supporting them during inflammation, infection, and cellular stress, and thus maintaining cellular homeostasis. Recent studies reveal lipophagy's influence on immune cell activation, cytokine secretion, antigen presentation, and cellular differentiation, demonstrating its importance in various diseases, including atherosclerosis, liver and kidney diseases, neurological disorders, and obesity-related metabolic conditions. In various immune cells, lipophagy not only sustains metabolic balance but also shapes immune responses across different disease contexts. This review explores the molecular mechanisms of lipophagy, its regulatory roles in immune responses, and its potential as a therapeutic target, underscoring lipophagy's promise for advancing immune modulation and metabolic therapies.