Fig. 1: Structure and formation mechanisms of LDs.
From: Are lipid droplets the picnic basket of brain tumours?
A Illustration depicting the structural composition of LDs. These droplets consist of a central hydrophobic core containing neutral lipids, primarily triacylglycerols (TAGs) and sterol esters. Surrounding this core is a monolayer of phospholipids, incorporating various proteins such as perilipin and lipid droplet-associated proteins (ADRP, TIP47). B Diagram outlining the fatty acid synthesis pathway responsible for generating triacylglycerols (TAG) and sterol esters stored within lipid droplets. TAG synthesis occurs on the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, involving sequential addition of fatty acids (FAs) in their activated acyl-CoA form to a glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) backbone. This process yields lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), phosphatidic acid (PA), and diacylglycerol (DAG). Catalyzed by acyltransferase enzymes, including glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferases (GPATs), acylglycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferases (AGPATs), and phosphatidic acid phosphatases (lipins), the final and pivotal step in the TAG synthesis cascade is carried out by diacylglycerol acyltransferase enzymes (DGATs). Figure created using BioRender.com.
