The excessive abundance of triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis in cells leads to lipid droplet formation within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Free fatty acids in ER are consecutively added to the glycerol backbone until a TAG is formed.
As soon as enough TAG is deposited between the ER lipid bilayer leaflets, lipid droplets are pushed into the cytoplasm covered by a phospholipid monolayer. Adipocytes are cells specializing in lipid storage, so lipid droplet formation is a physiological process for them.
For other cells, however, lipid droplet formation is harmful.
A recent paper by researchers from Germany, Switzerland, and France describe lipid droplet formation in renal proximal tubules in mice with diabetes.
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#lipidomics #lipids #FreeFattyAcid #EndoplasmicReticulum #MassSpectrometry #phospholipid #triacylglycerol #LipidDroplet
