All are welcome to attend our biweekly Lipids@Wayne seminar.

Speaker: Dr. Jun Liu, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine of Science, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Abstract: Fatty acids (FAs) serve as the fundamental building blocks of membrane lipids and represent the most efficient fuel for energy production. While a continuous supply of FAs is necessary for maintaining cellular homeostasis, an excess of FAs can lead to cytotoxic effects by disrupting membrane structures, generating harmful metabolites, and perturbing cellular redox balance. Efficient storage of FAs without lipotoxicity requires a finely regulated balance between triglyceride (TG) synthesis and hydrolysis/lipolysis. Our research is dedicated to exploring the posttranslational regulation of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), the rate-limiting enzyme for intracellular lipolysis. Through biochemical analyses and studies using animal models, we have identified selective protein inhibitors of ATGL and elucidated their roles in modulating lipolysis and FA utilization across various pathophysiological conditions.