Michel Guichardant, Laurent Guillou, Victor Girard, Bertrand Mollereau, Nathalie Bernoud-Hubac, Aurélie Cubizolle, Daan M. Van Den Brink, Claire Angebault-Prouteau, Pierre Dourlen, Gilles Chatelain, Philippe Brabet, Francesco Napoletano, Simone Johansen, Nathalie Davoust, Laboratoire de biologie et modélisation de la cellule (LBMC UMR 5239), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), BioSciences Lyon-Gerland (BLG), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier - Déficits sensoriels et moteurs (INM), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Department of Life Sciences, Trieste, University of Trieste, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), Cardiovasculaire, métabolisme, diabétologie et nutrition (CarMeN), Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), French National Research Agency ANR-12-BSV1-0019-02, Association Francaise contre les Myopathies, a European Union's Seventh Framework Programme/AIRC (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul cancro) Reintegration Grant, Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center NIH P40OD018537, CarMeN, laboratoire, Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier (INM), Università degli studi di Trieste = University of Trieste, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Van Den Brink, Daan M., Cubizolle, Aurélie, Chatelain, Gille, Davoust, Nathalie, Girard, Victor, Johansen, Simone, Napoletano, Francesco, Dourlen, Pierre, Guillou, Laurent, Angebault-Prouteau, Claire, Bernoud-Hubac, Nathalie, Guichardant, Michel, Brabet, Philippe, Mollereau, Bertrand, École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), and Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)
Increasing evidence suggests that dysregulation of lipid metabolism is associated with neurodegeneration in retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and in brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Lipid storage organelles (lipid droplets, LDs), accumulate in many cell types in response to stress, and it is now clear that LDs function not only as lipid stores but also as dynamic regulators of the stress response. However, whether these LDs are always protective or can also be deleterious to the cell is unknown. Here, we investigated the consequences of LD accumulation on retinal cell homeostasis under physiological and stress conditions in Drosophila and in mice. In wild-type Drosophila, we show that dFatp is required and sufficient for expansion of LD size in retinal pigment cells (RPCs) and that LDs in RPCs are required for photoreceptor survival during aging. Similarly, in mice, LD accumulation induced by RPC-specific expression of human FATP1 was non-toxic and promoted mitochondrial energy metabolism in RPCs and non-autonomously in photoreceptor cells. In contrast, the inhibition of LD accumulation by dFatp knockdown suppressed neurodegeneration in Aats-metFB Drosophila mutants, which carry elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This suggests that abnormal turnover of LD may be toxic for photoreceptors cells of the retina under oxidative stress. Collectively, these findings indicate that FATP-mediated LD formation in RPCs promotes RPC and neuronal homeostasis under physiological conditions but could be deleterious for the photoreceptors under pathological conditions., Author summary Lipids are major cell constituents and are present in the membranes, as free lipids in the cytoplasm, or stored in vesicles called lipid droplets (LDs). Under conditions of stress, lipids stored in LDs can be released to serve as substrates for energy metabolism by mitochondria. However, lipid storage is dysregulated in many degenerative disorders such as age-related macular degeneration, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Thus, it is unclear whether accumulation of LDs is protective or toxic for neuronal cells. To address this question, we examined the consequences of removal or enforced LD accumulation on the health of retinal cells in flies and mice. Like humans, fly and mouse retinas contain retinal pigment cells (RPC) that support the functions of neighboring photoreceptor cells. We found that overexpression of the fatty acid transport protein (FATP) in RPCs induced accumulation of LDs in both transgenic flies and mice. Moreover, LD accumulation in RPCs was not harmful for juxtaposed photoreceptors during aging, but was toxic under stress conditions. We propose that lipid storage promotes cellular communication that affects photoreceptor health.