Lipophagy is the process of autophagic degradation of lipid droplets into fatty acids. Lipid droplets are coated with perilipin (PLIN) proteins and they need to be eliminated for the degradation of the lipids inside. Cytosolic Heat shock cognate 71 kDa protein (HSPA8) binds PLIN2 and PLIN3 on the lipid droplet surface. Subsequently, PRKAA2 binds and phosphorylates perilipins. Phosphorylated PLINs dissociate from PRKAA2 and are believed to translocate to the cytosol (S Kaushik et al. 2015, S Kaushik et al. 2016). Experiments suggesting this event were performed in mouse models.
Kaushik, S, Cuervo, AM
© 2021 Reactome
