Lipid droplets (LDs) are ubiquitous organelles that store and supply lipids to regulate cellular lipid homeostasis. Fatty acids are packaged as triglyceride and cholesterol ester into endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes to synthesize LDs. Cytosolic LDs move dynamically and interact with organelles, including other LDs. In this process, functional proteins for metabolism are also transferred to LDs. In this review, I focus on interactions between the ER and LDs related to lipid metabolism.
Keywords: Endoplasmic reticulum; Lipid droplets; Lipid metabolism; Organelle interaction; Protein degradation.