Lipophagy: a new player in CNS disorders

• Published in: Trends in endocrinology and metabolism 2021-11, Vol.32 (11), p.941-951
• Main Authors: Haidar, Mansour, Loix, Melanie, Bogie, Jeroen F.J., Hendriks, Jerome J.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autophagy - physiology; Central Nervous System Diseases - metabolism; Humans; Lipid Droplets - metabolism; Lipid Metabolism - physiology; Lipids
• ISSN: 1043-2760; 1879-3061
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tem.2021.08.010

Lipophagy is the process of selective degradation of lipid droplets (LDs) by autophagy. Several studies have highlighted the importance of lipophagy in regulating cellular lipid levels in various tissues and disease conditions. In recent years, disruption of autophagy and accumulation of LDs have been reported as pathological hallmarks in several neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases, raising the question whether lipophagy is a process that is important in the progression of these disorders. This supports the growing interest in lipid metabolism as a major player in neurodegeneration, and the emerging understanding of several neurological pathologies as not only proteinopathies but also lipidopathies. In this review we discuss the importance of lipophagy in the most common central nervous system diseases. We examine the latest evidence for the reported interplay between abnormalities in lipid accumulation and autophagy, and propose lipophagy as a potentially important mechanism in neurodegeneration. Lipophagy is a selective type of autophagy which targets lipid droplets for degradation.Lipophagy is an important process for regulating lipid storage and preventing excessive lipid accumulation.Impaired autophagy is a pathological hallmark of most neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disordersAbnormal accumulation of lipid droplets has been recently reported in several types of central nervous system disorders and, together with decreased autophagy levels, it points to disturbed lipophagy as a common pathomechanism in neurodegeneration