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Apolipoprotein E4 Alters Astrocyte Fatty Acid Metabolism And Lipid Droplet Formation, Brandon C. Farmer, Jude Kluemper, Lance A. Johnson

Physiology Faculty Publications

Lipid droplets (LDs) serve as energy rich reservoirs and have been associated with apolipoprotein E (APOE) and neurodegeneration. The E4 allele of APOE (E4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for the development of late onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Since both E4 carriers and individuals with AD exhibit a state of cerebral lipid dyshomeostasis, we hypothesized that APOE may play a role in regulating LD metabolism. We found that astrocytes expressing E4 accumulate significantly more and smaller LDs compared to E3 astrocytes. Accordingly, expression of perilipin-2, an essential LD protein component, was higher in E4 astrocytes. We then …