Progress of Lipid Droplets in Regulating Programmed Cell Death in Tumors, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Liver Diseases
JIN Chaofan, LIU Xingyan, CUI Qinghua, ZHONG Yuting, YU Han, SONG Haoling, DING Lei*
LDs (lipid droplets), as core intracellular organelles for lipid storage and metabolism, have functions hat go beyond merely storing lipids, becoming key hubs of regulating lipid homeostasis, signal transduction, and cell fate. Disrupted lipid metabolism is a common pathological basis of major diseases such as tumors, cardiovascular diseases, and liver diseases. LDs regulate the dynamic balance of lipid synthesis, breakdown, and transport, and lipid metabolism disorders lead to programmed cell death, including apoptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and autophagy-dependent cell death, contributing to disease progression. Targeting LDs to correct lipid metabolism disorders or regulate their downstream cell death pathways has become a potential strategy for disease intervention. This article systematically summarizes the specific regulatory mechanisms of lipid droplet-mediated lipid metabolism disorders in diseases, provides an in-depth analysis of the crosstalk network between lipid droplets and programmed cell death under disease conditions, and summarizes research progress on strategies including small molecule drugs, nucleic acid drugs, and natural compounds targeting LDs, aiming to offer new perspectives and strategic references for the understanding of disease pathogenesis and precise therapy.
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