Regulation of Lipid Droplet Size in Mammary Epithelial Cells by Remodeling of Membrane Lipid Composition—A Potential Mechanism
Fig 5
Intracellular lipid droplet size is altered by the presence of various free fatty acids (FFAs) in the culture medium.
After cultivating mammary epithelial cells with 100 μM FFA (palmitic or oleic acid) or with FFA-free medium (control) for 24 h, lipid droplets were stained with Nile red. (A) Representative images showing the cellular phenotype according to the presence and size of cytoplasmic lipid droplets. Cells were categorized into three groups according to their lipid droplet phenotype: without lipid droplets, with small lipid droplets, or with large lipid droplets. Scale bar = 10 μm. (B) Distribution of mammary epithelial cells with different lipid droplet phenotypes was analyzed by chi-square test (P> 0.05). (C) Number of lipid droplets, by size categories. (D) Maximal lipid droplet diameter. In C and D, data are presented as mean ± SEM and different letters indicate significant differences between treatment groups (P < 0.05).