Droplets of fat inside our cells are helping the body’s own defence system fight back against infection, University of Queensland researchers have discovered.
The international collaboration between UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience researchers Professor Robert Parton and Professor Matt Sweet, and the University of Barcelona’s Professor Albert Pol found that these fat droplets are both a food source and weapon against bacterial invaders.
“It was previously thought that bacteria were merely using the lipid droplets to feed on, but we have discovered these fatty droplets are involved in the battle between the pathogens and our cells,” Professor Parton said.
“Fat is part of the cell’s arsenal—cells manufacture toxic proteins, package them into the lipid droplets, then fire them at the intruders.
“This is a new way that cells are protecting themselves, using fats as a covert weapon, and giving us new insights into ways of fighting infection.”