Cholesteryl esters (CEs) are the water-insoluble transport and storage form of cholesterol. Steroidogenic cells primarily store CEs in cytoplasmic lipid droplet (LD) organelles, as contrasted to the majority of mammalian cell types that predominantly store triacylglycerol (TAG) in LDs. The LD-binding Plin2 binds to both CE- and TAG-rich LDs, and although Plin2 is known to regulate degradation of TAG-rich LDs, its role for regulation of CE-rich LDs is unclear. To investigate the role of Plin2 in the regulation of CE-rich LDs, we performed histological and molecular characterization of adrenal glands from Plin2+/+ and Plin2−/− mice.
