The Surface of Lipid Droplets Constitutes a Barrier for Endoplasmic Reticulum-Resident Integral Membrane Proteins

Lipid droplets (LDs) are globular subcellular structures that store neutral lipids. LDs are closely associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and are limited by a phospholipid monolayer harboring a specific set of proteins. Most of these proteins associate with LDs through either an amphipathic helix or a membrane-embedded hairpin motif. Here we address the question whether integral membrane proteins could localize to the surface of LDs. To test this, we fused perilipin 3 (PLIN3), a mammalian LD-targeted protein, to ER residential proteins. The resulting fusion proteins localized to the periphery of LDs in both yeast and mammalian cells. This peripheral LD localization of the fusion proteins, however, was due to a redistribution of the ER around LDs, as revealed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation between ER- and LD-localized partners. A LD-tethering function of PLIN3-containing membrane proteins was confirmed by fusing PLIN3 to the cytoplasmic domain of an outer mitochondrial membrane protein, OM14. Expression of OM14-PLIN3 induced a close apposition between LDs and mitochondria. These data indicate that the ER-LD junction constitutes a barrier for ER-residential integral membrane proteins.