SUMMARY Lipid droplets (LDs) store metabolic energy and membrane lipid precursors. With excess metabolic energy, cells synthesize triacylglycerol (TG) and form LDs that grow dramatically. It is unclear how TG synthesis relates to LD formation and growth. Here, we identify two LD subpopulations: smaller LDs of relatively constant size, and LDs that grow larger. The latter population contains isoenzymes for each step of TG synthesis. Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 4 (GPAT4), which catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step, relocalizes from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to a subset of forming LDs, where it becomes stably associated. ER-to-LD targeting of GPAT4 and other LD-localized TG synthesis isozymes is required for LD growth. Key features of GPAT4 ER-to-LD targeting and function in LD growth are conserved between Drosophila and mammalian cells. Our results explain how TG synthesis is coupled with LD growth and identify two distinct LD subpopulations based on their capacity for localized TG synthesis.

Mitochondria maintain tight regulation of inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) permeability to sustain ATP production. Stressful events cause cellular calcium (Ca 2+ ) dysregulation followed by rapid loss of IMM potential known as permeability transition (PT), which produces osmotic shifts, metabolic dysfunction, and cell death. The molecular identity of the mitochondrial PT pore (mPTP) was previously unknown. We show that the purified reconstituted c-subunit ring of the F O of the F 1 F O ATP synthase forms a voltage-sensitive channel, the persistent opening of which leads to rapid and uncontrolled depolarization of the IMM in cells. Prolonged high matrix Ca 2+ enlarges the c-subunit ring and unhooks it from cyclophilin D/cyclosporine A binding sites in the ATP synthase F 1 , providing a mechanism for mPTP opening. In contrast, recombinant F 1 beta-subunit applied exogenously to the purified c-subunit enhances the probability of pore closure. Depletion of the c-subunit attenuates Ca 2+ -induced IMM depolarization and inhibits Ca 2+ and reactive oxygen species-induced cell death whereas increasing the expression or single-channel conductance of the c-subunit sensitizes to death. We conclude that a highly regulated c-subunit leak channel is a candidate for the mPTP. Beyond cell death, these findings also imply that increasing the probability of c-subunit channel closure in a healthy cell will enhance IMM coupling and increase cellular metabolic efficiency.metabolism | necrosis | apoptosis | ion channel | excitotoxicity M itochondria produce ATP by oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Leak currents in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) reduce the efficiency of this process by uncoupling the electron transport system from ATP synthase activity. Many studies have described the biophysical and pharmacological features of an IMM pore [the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP)] that is responsible for a rapid IMM uncoupling, causing osmotic shifts within the mitochondrial matrix in the setting of cellular Ca 2+ dysregulation and adenine nucleotide depletion (1-4). Some studies suggest that such uncoupling also functions during physiological events and that the mPTP may transiently operate as a Ca 2+ -release channel (5-7). Although models for the molecular identity of the mPTP have been proposed (8), deletions of putative components, such as adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) and the voltagedependent anion channel (VDAC), have failed to prevent rapid depolarizations (9). In the meantime, nonpore forming regulatory components of the mPTP, such as cyclophilin D (CypD), have been extensively investigated (10, 11).We recently reported a leak conductance sensitive to ATP/ ADP and the Bcl-2 family member B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-x L ) within the membrane of isolated submitochondrial vesicles (SMVs) enriched in ATP synthase (12, 13). We demonstrated binding of Bcl-x L within F 1 to the beta-subunit of the ATP synthase, suggesting that the channel responsible for the leak conductance lies within the memb...

How proteins control the biogenesis of cellular lipid droplets (LDs) is poorly understood. Using Drosophila and human cells, we show here that seipin, an ER protein implicated in LD biology, mediates a discrete step in LD formation—the conversion of small, nascent LDs to larger, mature LDs. Seipin forms discrete and dynamic foci in the ER that interact with nascent LDs to enable their growth. In the absence of seipin, numerous small, nascent LDs accumulate near the ER and most often fail to grow. Those that do grow prematurely acquire lipid synthesis enzymes and undergo expansion, eventually leading to the giant LDs characteristic of seipin deficiency. Our studies identify a discrete step of LD formation, namely the conversion of nascent LDs to mature LDs, and define a molecular role for seipin in this process, most likely by acting at ER-LD contact sites to enable lipid transfer to nascent LDs.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16582.001

SUMMARY The intestinal mucosal barrier controlling the resident microbiome is dependent on a protective mucus layer generated by goblet cells, impairment of which is a hallmark of the inflammatory bowel disease Ulcerative Colitis. Here we show that IL-18 is critical in driving the pathologic breakdown of barrier integrity in a model of colitis. Deletion of Il18 or its receptor Il18r1 in intestinal epithelial cells (Δ/EC) conferred protection from colitis and mucosal damage in mice. In contrast, deletion of the IL-18 negative regulator Il18bp resulted in severe colitis associated with loss of mature goblet cells. Colitis and goblet cell loss were rescued in Il18bp−/−;Il18rΔ/EC mice, demonstrating that colitis severity is controlled at the level of IL-18 signaling in intestinal epithelial cells. IL-18 inhibited goblet cell maturation by regulating the transcriptional program instructing goblet cell development. These results inform on the mechanism of goblet cell dysfunction which underlies the pathology of Ulcerative Colitis.

Anti-apoptotic Bcl2 family proteins such as Bcl-xL protect cells from death by sequestering apoptotic molecules, but also contribute to normal neuronal function. We find in hippocampal neurons that Bcl-xL enhances the efficiency of energy metabolism. Our evidence suggests that Bcl-xL interacts directly with the beta subunit of the F1FO ATP synthase, decreasing an ion leak within the F1FO ATPase complex and thereby increasing net transport of H+ by F1FO during F1FO ATPase activity. By patch clamping submitochondrial vesicles enriched in F1FO ATP synthase complexes, we find that, in the presence of ATP, pharmacological or genetic inhibition of Bcl-xL increases the membrane leak conductance. In addition, recombinant Bcl-xL protein directly increases ATPase activity of purified synthase complexes, while inhibition of endogenous Bcl-xL decreases F1FO enzymatic activity. Our findings suggest that increased mitochondrial efficiency contributes to the enhanced synaptic efficacy found in Bcl-xL expressing neurons.