Lipid droplets (LDs) are the major lipid storage organelles of eukaryotic cells and a source of nutrients for intracellular pathogens. We demonstrate that mammalian LDs are endowed with a protein-mediated antimicrobial capacity, which is up-regulated by danger signals. In response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), multiple host defense proteins, including interferon-inducible guanosine triphosphatases and the antimicrobial cathelicidin, assemble into complex clusters on LDs. LPS additionally promotes the physical and functional uncoupling of LDs from mitochondria, reducing fatty acid metabolism while increasing LD-bacterial contacts. Thus, LDs actively participate in mammalian innate immunity at two levels: They are both cell-autonomous organelles that organize and use immune proteins to kill intracellular pathogens as well as central players in the local and systemic metabolic adaptation to infection.

Proliferating cells are preferentially susceptible to infection by retroviruses. Sterile α motif and HD domain–containing protein-1 (SAMHD1) is a recently described deoxynucleotide phosphohydrolase controlling the size of the intracellular deoxynucleotide triphosphate (dNTP) pool, a limiting factor for retroviral reverse transcription in noncycling cells. Proliferating (Ki67+) primary CD4+ T cells or macrophages express a phosphorylated form of SAMHD1 that corresponds with susceptibility to infection in cell culture. We identified cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 6 as an upstream regulator of CDK2 controlling SAMHD1 phosphorylation in primary T cells and macrophages susceptible to infection by HIV-1. In turn, CDK2 was strongly linked to cell cycle progression and coordinated SAMHD1 phosphorylation and inactivation. CDK inhibitors specifically blocked HIV-1 infection at the reverse transcription step in a SAMHD1-dependent manner, reducing the intracellular dNTP pool. Our findings identify a direct relationship between control of the cell cycle by CDK6 and SAMHD1 activity, which is important for replication of lentiviruses, as well as other viruses whose replication may be regulated by intracellular dNTP availability.

Background: Cellular stress leading to cell death induces the formation of lipid droplets. Results: Nutrient deprivation induces LD biogenesis and mobilization, fueling fatty acid oxidation to sustain cell viability. Conclusion: ␤-Oxidation requires biogenesis and mobilization of LD. Significance: The role of LD in cell survival and ␤-oxidation might provide new potential targets for antitumor therapy.

Lipid droplets (LD) are organelles present in all cell types, consisting of a hydrophobic core of triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters, surrounded by a monolayer of phospholipids and cholesterol. This work shows that LD biogenesis induced by serum, by long-chain fatty acids, or the combination of both in CHO-K1 cells was prevented by phospholipase A 2 inhibitors with a pharmacological profile consistent with the implication of group IVA cytosolic phospholipase A 2 (cPLA 2 ␣). Knocking down cPLA 2 ␣ expression with short interfering RNA was similar to pharmacological inhibition in terms of enzyme activity and LD biogenesis. A Chinese hamster ovary cell clone stably expressing an enhanced green fluorescent protein-cPLA 2 ␣ fusion protein (EGFP-cPLA 2 ) displayed higher LD occurrence under basal conditions and upon LD induction. Induction of LD took place with concurrent phosphorylation of cPLA 2 ␣ at Ser 505 . Transfection of a S505A mutant cPLA 2 ␣ showed that phosphorylation at Ser 505 is key for enzyme activity and LD formation. cPLA 2 ␣ contribution to LD biogenesis was not because of the generation of arachidonic acid, nor was it related to neutral lipid synthesis. cPLA 2 ␣ inhibition in cells induced to form LD resulted in the appearance of tubulo-vesicular profiles of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, compatible with a role of cPLA 2 ␣ in the formation of nascent LD from the endoplasmic reticulum.