Imaging cytoplasmic lipid droplets in vivo with fluorescent perilipin 2 and perilipin 3 knock-in zebrafish

MH Wilson, SC Ekker, SA Farber - Elife, 2021 - elifesciences.org
MH Wilson, SC Ekker, SA Farber
Elife, 2021elifesciences.org
Cytoplasmic lipid droplets are highly dynamic storage organelles that are critical for cellular
lipid homeostasis. While the molecular details of lipid droplet dynamics are a very active
area of investigation, this work has been primarily performed in cultured cells. Taking
advantage of the powerful transgenic and in vivo imaging opportunities available in
zebrafish, we built a suite of tools to study lipid droplets in real time from the subcellular to
the whole organism level. Fluorescently tagging the lipid droplet-associated proteins …
Abstract
Cytoplasmic lipid droplets are highly dynamic storage organelles that are critical for cellular lipid homeostasis. While the molecular details of lipid droplet dynamics are a very active area of investigation, this work has been primarily performed in cultured cells. Taking advantage of the powerful transgenic and in vivo imaging opportunities available in zebrafish, we built a suite of tools to study lipid droplets in real time from the subcellular to the whole organism level. Fluorescently tagging the lipid droplet-associated proteins, perilipin 2 and perilipin 3, in the endogenous loci permits visualization of lipid droplets in the intestine, liver, and adipose tissue. Using these tools, we found that perilipin 3 is rapidly loaded on intestinal lipid droplets following a high-fat meal and later replaced by perilipin 2. These powerful new tools will facilitate studies on the role of lipid droplets in different tissues, under different genetic and physiological manipulations, and in a variety of human disease models.
eLife