Topic: lipid droplets

The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is doubled in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). While the prevalence of both diseases increases globally, the T2D-AD link remains to be elucidated. Ectopic accumulation of lipids (lipotoxicity) is a known consequence of T2D and has lately been suggested as a driver for AD. Angiogenesis and adult neurogenesis are thought to be affected in both diseases. Physical exercise acts preventively against AD and T2D and has been shown to stimulate angiogenesis and neurogenesis. In this study, we exposed animals from the db/db mouse model of T2D to ei

The African naked mole rat (NMR) is an extremely long-lived species compared to its body size and can reach above 30 years of age. The NMR show unique adaptations to resist damage to the brain. They can survive up to 20 minutes of complete anoxia [1] and express high levels of amyloid-β without developing amyloid plaques [2]. Our aim is to understand if altered lipid metabolism through regulation of lipid droplets (LDs) in brain cells is one of the NMRs intrinsic adaptations, giving them their long-lived phenotype and resistance to neurological damage. Immunohistochemistry was performed on bra

Dysregulated lipid homeostasis is a characteristic of brain aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Perilipins, a family of proteins decorating the surface of lipid droplets (LDs), are key regulators of lipid metabolism in peripheral organs. Research indicates that the expression of perilipin2 increases in the brain with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, and preliminary data from our group suggest a reduced LD size in hippocampal neurons in response to the deletion of perilipin2. This project aims to investigate the connection between aging and the accumulation

This research project investigates the role of lipid droplets (LDs) in neuronal survival and dysfunction, focussing on two human in vitro models of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs): neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line exposed to 6-OHDA for Parkinson’s, and primary human fibroblasts from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients.Valid and reliable experimental tools for LDs detection and quantification were set up in SH-SY5Y. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was combined with image analysis, allowing an automatic and objective quantification of LDs in basal conditions, and in response to LDs modulation a