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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/219713
Defensive-lipid droplets: Cellular organelles designed for antimicrobial immunity
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Abstract
Microbes have developed many strategies to subvert host organisms, which, in turn,
evolved several innate immune responses. As major lipid storage organelles of eukary-
otes, lipid droplets (LDs) are an attractive source of nutrients for invaders. Intracellular
viruses, bacteria, and protozoan parasites induce and physically interact with LDs, and
the current view is that they “hijack” LDs to draw on substrates for host colonization.
This dogma has been challenged by the recent demonstration that LDs are endowed
with a protein-mediated antibiotic activity, which is upregulated in response to danger
signals and sepsis. Dependence on host nutrients could be a generic “Achilles’ heel” of
intracellular pathogens and LDs a suitable chokepoint harnessed by innate immunity
to organize a front-line defense. Here, we will provide a brief overview of the state of
the conflict and discuss potential mechanisms driving the formation of the ‘defensive-
LDs’ functioning as hubs of innate immunity.
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SAFI, Rémi, et al. Defensive-lipid droplets: Cellular organelles designed for antimicrobial immunity. Immunological Reviews. 2023. Vol. 317, num. 1, pags. 113-136. ISSN 0105-2896. [consulted: 16 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/219713