Hepatitis C virus core protein uses triacylglycerols to fold onto the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are involved in viral infections, but exactly how remains unclear. Here, we study the hepatitis C virus (HCV) whose core capsid protein binds to LDs but is also involved in the assembly of virions at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) bilayer. We found that the amphipathic helix-containing domain of core, D2, senses triglycerides (TGs) rather than LDs per se. In the absence of LDs, D2 can bind to the ER membrane but only if TG molecules are present in the bilayer. Accordingly, the pharmacological inhibition of the diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase enzymes, mediating TG synthesis in the ER, inhibits D2 association with the bilayer. We found that TG molecules enable D2 to fold into alpha helices. Sequence analysis reveals that D2 resembles the apoE lipid-binding region. Our data support that TG in LDs promotes the folding of core, which subsequently relocalizes to contiguous ER regions. During this motion, core may carry TG molecules to these regions where HCV lipoviroparticles likely assemble. Consistent with this model, the inhibition of Arf1/COPI, which decreases LD surface accessibility to proteins and ER-LD material exchange, severely impedes the assembly of virions. Altogether, our data uncover a critical function of TG in the folding of core and HCV replication and reveals, more broadly, how TG accumulation in the ER may provoke the binding of soluble amphipathic helix-containing proteins to the ER bilayer.

Perilipin membrane integration determines lipid droplet heterogeneity in differentiating adipocytes.

The storage of fat within lipid droplets (LDs) of adipocytes is critical for whole-body health. Acute fatty acid (FA) uptake by differentiating adipocytes leads to the formation of at least two LD classes marked by distinct perilipins (PLINs). How this LD heterogeneity arises is an important yet unresolved cell biological problem. Here, we show that an unconventional integral membrane segment (iMS) targets the adipocyte specific LD surface factor PLIN1 to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and facilitates high-affinity binding to the first LD class. The other PLINs remain largely excluded from these LDs until FA influx recruits them to a second LD population. Preventing ER targeting turns PLIN1 into a soluble, cytoplasmic LD protein, reduces its LD affinity, and switches its LD class specificity. Conversely, moving the iMS to PLIN2 leads to ER insertion and formation of a separate LD class. Our results shed light on how differences in organelle targeting and disparities in lipid affinity of LD surface factors contribute to formation of LD heterogeneity.

LC3B is lipidated to large lipid droplets during prolonged starvation for noncanonical autophagy.

Lipid droplets (LDs) store lipids that can be utilized during times of scarcity via autophagic and lysosomal pathways, but how LDs and autophagosomes interact remained unclear. Here, we discovered that the E2 autophagic enzyme, ATG3, localizes to the surface of certain ultra-large LDs in differentiated murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes or Huh7 human liver cells undergoing prolonged starvation. Subsequently, ATG3 lipidates microtubule-associated protein 1 light-chain 3B (LC3B) to these LDs. In vitro, ATG3 could bind alone to purified and artificial LDs to mediate this lipidation reaction. We observed that LC3B-lipidated LDs were consistently in close proximity to collections of LC3B-membranes and were lacking Plin1. This phenotype is distinct from macrolipophagy, but it required autophagy because it disappeared following ATG5 or Beclin1 knockout. Our data suggest that extended starvation triggers a noncanonical autophagy mechanism, similar to LC3B-associated phagocytosis, in which the surface of large LDs serves as an LC3B lipidation platform for autophagic processes.

Dual binding motifs underpin the hierarchical association of perilipins1-3 with lipid droplets.

Lipid droplets (LDs) in all eukaryotic cells are coated with at least one of the perilipin (Plin) family of proteins. They all regulate key intracellular lipases but do so to significantly different extents. Where more than one Plin is expressed in a cell, they associate with LDs in a hierarchical manner. In vivo, this means that lipid flux control in a particular cell or tissue type is heavily influenced by the specific Plins present on its LDs. Despite their early discovery, exactly how Plins target LDs and why they displace each other in a "hierarchical" manner remains unclear. They all share an amino-terminal 11-mer repeat (11mr) amphipathic region suggested to be involved in LD targeting. Here, we show that, in vivo, this domain functions as a primary highly reversible LD targeting motif in Plin1-3, and, in vitro, we document reversible and competitive binding between a wild-type purified Plin1 11mr peptide and a mutant with reduced binding affinity to both "naked" and phospholipid-coated oil-water interfaces. We also present data suggesting that a second carboxy-terminal 4-helix bundle domain stabilizes LD binding in Plin1 more effectively than in Plin2, whereas it weakens binding in Plin3. These findings suggest that dual amphipathic helical regions mediate LD targeting and underpin the hierarchical binding of Plin1-3 to LDs.

Membrane Asymmetry Imposes Directionality on Lipid Droplet Emergence from the ER.

During energy bursts, neutral lipids fabricated within the ER bilayer demix to form lipid droplets (LDs). LDs bud off mainly in the cytosol where they regulate metabolism and multiple biological processes. They indeed become accessible to most enzymes and can interact with other organelles. How such directional emergence is achieved remains elusive. Here, we found that this directionality is controlled by an asymmetry in monolayer surface coverage. Model LDs emerge on the membrane leaflet of higher coverage, which is improved by the insertion of proteins and phospholipids. In cells, continuous LD emergence on the cytosol would require a constant refill of phospholipids to the ER cytosolic leaflet. Consistent with this model, cells deficient in phospholipids present an increased number of LDs exposed to the ER lumen and compensate by remodeling ER shape. Our results reveal an active cooperation between phospholipids and proteins to extract LDs from ER.

ER Membrane Phospholipids and Surface Tension Control Cellular Lipid Droplet Formation.

Cells convert excess energy into neutral lipids that are made in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) bilayer. The lipids are then packaged into spherical or budded lipid droplets (LDs) covered by a phospholipid monolayer containing proteins. LDs play a key role in cellular energy metabolism and homeostasis. A key unanswered question in the life of LDs is how they bud off from the ER. Here, we tackle this question by studying the budding of artificial LDs from model membranes. We find that the bilayer phospholipid composition and surface tension are key parameters of LD budding. Phospholipids have differential LD budding aptitudes, and those inducing budding decrease the bilayer tension. We observe that decreasing tension favors the egress of neutral lipids from the bilayer and LD budding. In cells, budding conditions favor the formation of small LDs. Our discovery reveals the importance of altering ER physical chemistry for controlled cellular LD formation.

Phagocytosis of immunoglobulin-coated emulsion droplets.

Phagocytosis by macrophages represents a fundamental process essential for both immunity and tissue homeostasis. The size of targets to be eliminated ranges from small particles as bacteria to large objects as cancerous or senescent cells. Most of our current quantitative knowledge on phagocytosis is based on the use of solid polymer microparticles as model targets that are well adapted to the study of phagocytosis mechanisms that do not involve any lateral mobility of the ligands, despite the relevance of this parameter in the immunological context. Herein we designed monodisperse, IgG-coated emulsion droplets that are efficiently and specifically internalized by macrophages through in-vitro FcγR-mediated phagocytosis. We show that, contrary to solid polymeric beads, droplet uptake is efficient even for low IgG densities, and is accompagnied by the clustering of the opsonins in the zone of contact with the macrophage during the adhesion step. Beyond the sole interest in the design of the material, our results suggest that lateral mobility of proteins at the interface of a target greatly enhances the phagocytic uptake.