A fluorescent perilipin 2 knock-in mouse model visualizes lipid droplets in the developing and adult brain

Abstract

Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic lipid storage organelles. They are tightly linked to metabolism and can exert protective functions, making them important players in health and disease. Most LD studies in vivo rely on staining methods, providing only a snapshot. We therefore developed a LD-reporter mouse by endogenously labelling the LD coat protein perilipin 2 (PLIN2) with tdTomato, enabling staining-free fluorescent LD visualisation in living and fixed tissues and cells. Here we validate this model under standard and high-fat diet conditions and demonstrate that LDs are present in various cells in the healthy brain, including neurons, astrocytes, ependymal cells, neural stem/progenitor cells and microglia. Furthermore, we show that LDs are abundant during brain development and can be visualized using live-imaging of embryonic slices. Taken together, our tdTom-Plin2 mouse serves as a novel tool to study LDs and their dynamics under both physiological and diseased conditions in all tissues expressing Plin2.