Lipid droplets are intracellular mechanical stressors that impair hepatocyte function.

ABSTRACT: Matrix stiffening and external mechanical stress have been linked to disease and cancer development in multiple tissues, including the liver, where cirrhosis (which increases stiffness markedly) is the major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and lipid droplet-filled hepatocytes, however, can develop cancer in noncirrhotic, relatively soft tissue. Here, by treating primary human hepatocytes with the monounsaturated fatty acid oleate, we show that lipid droplets are intracellular mechanical stressors with similar effects to tissue stiffening, including nuclear deformation, chromatin condensation, and impaired hepatocyte function. Mathematical modeling of lipid droplets as inclusions that have only mechanical interactions with other cellu

SUBMITTER: Loneker AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10120019 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature