Early stages of lipid-droplet formation

Neutral triglycerides aggregate within a phospholipid bilayer to form a lens-like blister.

Coarse-grained simulations show neutral triglycerides aggregating inside a phospholipid membrane, an early molecular step toward lipid-droplet biogenesis.

Triglycerides aggregate within the bilayer interior and form a lens-like blister.

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Reference

Khandelia H, Duelund L, Pakkanen KI, Ipsen JH. Triglyceride blisters in lipid bilayers: implications for lipid droplet biogenesis and the mobile lipid signal in cancer cell membranes. PLoS ONE. 2010;5(9):e12811. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012811