New research by the University of Queensland has found that droplets of fat inside our cells are helping the body's own defense system fight back against infection. Their study was published in Science.
"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," lead researcher Robert 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."
With antibiotic-resistant superbugs on the rise, researchers are determined to find alternative ways to fight infection. "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."
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"We showed that upon infection of white blood cells called macrophages, lipid droplets move to the part of the macrophage where the bacteria are present," researcher Matt Sweet said. The team also observed that infection also alters the way that the cells utilize energy. "Lipid droplets can be used as a fuel source for mitochondria when there aren't enough other nutrients," he added.
"Most people thought the lipid droplets were 'blobs of fat', only useful for energy storage but now we are seeing that they act as metabolic switches in the cell, defend against infection and much more—there are now entire scientific conferences of researchers working on them," he concluded.