Evaluation of Lipid Droplet Size and Fusion in Bovine Hepatic Cells

Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles that play an important role in lipid metabolism and neutral lipid storage in cells. They are associated with a variety of metabolic diseases, such as obesity, fatty liver disease, and diabetes. In hepatic cells, the sizes and numbers of LDs are signs of fatty liver disease. Moreover, the oxidative stress reaction, cell autophagy, and apoptosis are often accompanied by changes in the sizes and numbers of LDs. As a result, the dimensions and quantity of LDs are the basis of the current research regarding the mechanism of LD biogenesis. Here, in fatty acid-induced bovine hepatic cells, we describe how to use oil red O to stain LDs and to investigate the sizes and numbers of LDs. The size distribution of LDs is statistically analyzed. The process of small LDs fusing into large LDs is also observed by a live cell imaging system. The current work provides a way to directly observe the size change trend of LDs under different physiological conditions.