Evidence indicates that skeletal muscle lipid droplet-associated proteins (PLINs) regulate lipolysis through protein-protein interactions on the lipid droplet surface. In adipocytes, PLIN1 is thought to regulate lipolysis by directly interacting with comparative gene identification-58 (CGI-58), an activator of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL). Upon lipolytic stimulation, PLIN1 is phosphorylated, releasing CGI-58 to fully activate ATGL and initiate triglyceride breakdown. The absence of PLIN1 in skeletal muscle leads us to believe that other PLIN family members undertake this role. Our purpose was to examine interactions between PLIN2, PLIN3, and PLIN5, with ATGL and its coactivator CGI-58 at rest and following contraction. Isolated rat solei were incubated for 30 min at rest or during 30 min of intermittent tetanic stimulation [150-ms volleys at 60 Hz with a train rate of 20 tetani/min (25°C)] to maximally stimulate intramuscular lipid breakdown. Results show that the interaction between ATGL and CGI-58 increased 128% following contraction (P ϭ 0.041). Further, ATGL interacts with PLIN2, PLIN3, and PLIN5 at rest and following contraction. The PLIN2-ATGL interaction decreased significantly by 21% following stimulation (P ϭ 0.013). Both PLIN3 and PLIN5 coprecipitated with CGI-58 at rest and following contraction, while there was no detectable interaction between PLIN2 and CGI-58 in either condition. Therefore, our findings indicate that in skeletal muscle, during contraction-induced muscle lipolysis, ATGL and CGI-58 strongly associate and that the PLIN proteins work together to regulate lipolysis, in part, by preventing ATGL and CGI-58 interactions at rest. adipocyte differentiation-related protein; adipophilin; OXPAT; MLDP; TIP47; ABHD5 FATTY ACIDS (FA) RELEASED from intramuscular triglycerides (IMTG) during lipolysis provide an important source of energy during muscle contraction. In skeletal muscle, IMTGs are packaged into lipid droplets that possess a unique coat of proteins associated with the surrounding phospholipid monolayer. This protein coat provides an interface for specific processes, such as transport, lipogenesis, and lipolysis (10, 34). Perilipins (PLINs) are the most recognized family of lipid droplet proteins and are the most likely to be involved in the regulation of lipogenesis and lipolysis in skeletal muscle (31).Our understanding of PLIN proteins in skeletal muscle is limited; however, studies in other tissues and in cell culture indicate that PLIN proteins are key regulators of lipid metabolism, as they appear to be directly involved with how cells and tissues store, mobilize, and utilize fatty acids (8,12,15,34,35,62). The PLIN family consists of five members, PLIN1