MICROSCOPY Vol.45▶No.2 2010
â– Feature Articles: Autophagy: Fusion of Morphology and Molecular Biology

Lipid Droplets and Autophagy

Yuki Shinohara, Yuki Ohsaki, Michitaka Suzuki and Toyoshi Fujimoto

Abstract: The autophagy research is expanding rapidly and the relationship between autophagy and lipid droplets is attracting much attention. However, whether the lipid droplet is just one of many organelles that are processed by autophagy or an essential structure for autophagic induction has not been resolved. In this article, we introduced and commented on several recent papers dealing with lipid droplets and autophagy.

Key words: lipid droplet, autophagy, isolation membrane, endoplasmic reticulum