Speaker: Prof. Xing Zeng, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Time: 16:00-17:00 p.m., December 20, 2023, GMT+8

Venue: B117, Research Complex #2, PKU

Abstract: 

Interorganelle contacts facilitate material exchanges and sustain the structural and functional integrity of organelles. Lipid droplets (LDs) of adipocytes are responsible for energy storage and mobilization responding to body needs. LD biogenesis defects compromise the lipid-storing capacity of adipocytes, resulting in ectopic lipid deposition and metabolic disorders, yet how the uniquely large LDs in adipocytes attain structural and functional maturation is incompletely understood. Here we show that the mammalian adipocyte-specific protein CLSTN3B is crucial for adipocyte LD maturation.CLSTN3B employs an arginine-rich segment to promote extensive contact and hemifusion-like structure formation between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and LD, allowingER-to-LD phospholipid diffusion during LD expansion. CLSTN3B ablation results in reduced LD surface phospholipid density, increased turnover of LD-surface proteins, and impaired LD functions. Our results establish the central role of CLSTN3B in the adipocyte-specific LD maturation pathway that enhances lipid storage and maintenance of metabolic health under caloric overload.

Source: College of Future Technology, PKU