SPART links autophagy machinery and lipid droplets in motor neurons.

Autophagy, in the form of lipophagy, is an important catabolic pathway mediating the degradation of lipid droplets and mobilization of lipids for physiological function. However, the molecular mechanism and the protein receptors that link lipid droplets/LDs to the autophagy machinery remain unknown. Here, we discuss a recent study by Chung et al. that identifies SPART as the receptor for autophagy of lipid droplets that plays an important role in the turnover of triglycerides in motor neurons.