Insulin stimulates the transport of glucose into fat and muscle cells. Although the precise molecular mechanisms involved in this process remain uncertain, insulin initiates its actions by binding to its tyrosine kinase receptor, leading to the phosphorylation of intracellular substrates. One such substrate is the Cbl proto-oncogene product. Cbl is recruited to the insulin receptor by interaction with the adapter protein CAP, through one of three adjacent SH3 domains in the carboxy terminus of CAP. Upon phosphorylation of Cbl, the CAP-Cbl complex dissociates from the insulin receptor and moves to a caveolin-enriched, triton-insoluble membrane fraction. Here, to identify a molecular mechanism underlying this subcellular redistribution, we screened a yeast two-hybrid library using the amino-terminal region of CAP and identified the caveolar protein flotillin. Flotillin forms a ternary complex with CAP and Cbl, directing the localization of the CAP-Cbl complex to a lipid raft subdomain of the plasma membrane. Expression of the N-terminal domain of CAP in 3T3-L1 adipocytes blocks the stimulation of glucose transport by insulin, without affecting signalling events that depend on phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase. Thus, localization of the Cbl-CAP complex to lipid rafts generates a pathway that is crucial in the regulation of glucose uptake.

SummaryThe PAT family of lipid droplet proteins includes 5 members in mammals: perilipin, adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP), tail-interacting protein of 47 kiloDaltons (TIP47), S3-12, and OXPAT. Members of this family are also present in evolutionarily distant organisms, including insects, slime molds and fungi. All PAT proteins share sequence similarity and the ability to bind intracellular lipid droplets, either constitutively or in response to metabolic stimuli, such as increased lipid flux into or out of lipid droplets. Positioned at the lipid droplet surface, PAT proteins manage access of other proteins (lipases) to the lipid esters within the lipid droplet core and can interact with cellular machinery important for lipid droplet biogenesis. Genetic variations in the gene for the best characterized of the mammalian PAT proteins, perilipin, have been associated with metabolic phenotypes, including type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. In this review, we discuss how the PAT proteins regulate cellular lipid metabolism both in mammals and in model organisms.

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Adipose tissue regulates numerous physiological processes, and its dysfunction in obese humans is associated with disrupted metabolic homeostasis, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although several US-approved treatments for obesity and T2DM exist, these are limited by adverse effects and a lack of effective long-term glucose control. In this Review, we provide an overview of the role of adipose tissue in metabolic homeostasis and assess emerging novel therapeutic strategies targeting adipose tissue, including adipokine-based strategies, promotion of white adipose tissue beiging as well as reduction of inflammation and fibrosis.

OBJECTIVEChronic exercise and obesity both increase intramyocellular triglycerides (IMTGs) despite having opposing effects on insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that chronically exercise-trained muscle would be characterized by lower skeletal muscle diacylglycerols (DAGs) and ceramides despite higher IMTGs and would account for its higher insulin sensitivity. We also hypothesized that the expression of key skeletal muscle proteins involved in lipid droplet hydrolysis, DAG formation, and fatty-acid partitioning and oxidation would be associated with the lipotoxic phenotype.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA total of 14 normal-weight, endurance-trained athletes (NWA group) and 7 normal-weight sedentary (NWS group) and 21 obese sedentary (OBS group) volunteers were studied. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by glucose clamps. IMTGs, DAGs, ceramides, and protein expression were measured in muscle biopsies.RESULTSDAG content in the NWA group was approximately twofold higher than in the OBS group and ~50% higher than in the NWS group, corresponding to higher insulin sensitivity. While certain DAG moieties clearly were associated with better insulin sensitivity, other species were not. Ceramide content was higher in insulin-resistant obese muscle. The expression of OXPAT/perilipin-5, adipose triglyceride lipase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase protein was higher in the NWA group, corresponding to a higher mitochondrial content, proportion of type 1 myocytes, IMTGs, DAGs, and insulin sensitivity.CONCLUSIONSTotal myocellular DAGs were markedly higher in highly trained athletes, corresponding with higher insulin sensitivity, and suggest a more complex role for DAGs in insulin action. Our data also provide additional evidence in humans linking ceramides to insulin resistance. Finally, this study provides novel evidence supporting a role for specific skeletal muscle proteins involved in intramyocellular lipids, mitochondrial oxidative capacity, and insulin resistance.

Lipid droplet proteins of the PAT (perilipin, adipophilin, and TIP47) family regulate cellular neutral lipid stores. We have studied a new member of this family, PAT-1, and found that it is expressed in highly oxidative tissues. We refer to this protein as "OXPAT.

Organisms store energy for later use during times of nutrient scarcity. Excess energy is stored as triacylglycerol in lipid droplets during lipogenesis. When energy is required, the stored triacylglycerol is hydrolyzed via activation of lipolytic pathways. The coordination of lipid storage and utilization is regulated by the perilipin family of lipid droplet coat proteins [perilipin, adipophilin/adipocyte differentiation-related protein (ADRP), S3-12, tail-interacting protein of 47 kilodaltons (TIP47), and myocardial lipid droplet protein (MLDP)/oxidative tissues-enriched PAT protein (OXPAT)/lipid storage droplet protein 5 (LSDP5)]. Lipid droplets are dynamic and heterogeneous in size, location, and protein content. The proteins that coat lipid droplets change during lipid droplet biogenesis and are dependent upon multiple factors, including tissue-specific expression and metabolic state (basal vs. lipogenic vs. lipolytic). New data suggest that proteins previously implicated in vesicle trafficking, including Rabs, soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), and motor and cytoskeletal proteins, likely orchestrate the movement and fusion of lipid droplets. Thus, rather than inert cytoplasmic inclusions, lipid droplets are now appreciated as dynamic organelles that are critical for management of cellular lipid stores. That much remains to be discovered is suggested by the recent identification of a novel lipase [adipocyte triglyceride lipase (ATGL)] and lipase regulator [Comparative Gene Identification-58 (CGI-58)], which has led to reconsideration of the decades-old model of lipolysis. Future discovery likely will be driven by the exploitation of model organisms and by human genetic studies.

Humans have evolved mechanisms of efficient fat storage to survive famine, but these mechanisms contribute to obesity in our current environment of plentiful food and reduced activity. Little is known about how animals package fat within cells. Five related structural proteins serve roles in packaging fat into lipid droplets. The proteins TIP47, S3-12, and OX-PAT/MLDP/PAT-1 move from the cytosol to coat nascent lipid droplets during rapid fat storage. In contrast, perilipin and adipophilin constitutively associate with lipid droplets and play roles in sustained fat storage and regulation of lipolysis. Different tissues express different complements of these lipid droplet proteins. Thus, the tissue-specific complement of these proteins determines how tissues manage lipid stores.