Oxidative tissue: perilipin 5 links storage with the furnace

Cellular energy homeostasis is a crucial function of oxidative tissues and is altered in obesity, a continuously rising health problem. Lipid droplets (LD) are thought to play a central role in lipid homeostasis by mediating the transient storage of fatty acids in the form of triglyceride, while preventing high levels of toxic lipid intermediates or oxidized lipids that mediate cellular lipotoxicity. Members of the perilipin protein family coating LD surfaces have been found to serve important regulatory and structural functions crucial to the regulation of lipid stores. This review examines the results of studies on one of the newest members of the perilipin family, perilipin 5, which has emerged as a putative key player in LD function in oxidative tissues.