Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a critical step in the development of liver fibrosis.
During activation, HSCs lose their lipid droplets (LDs) containing triacylglycerols (TAGs),
cholesteryl esters, and retinyl esters (REs). We previously provided evidence for the
presence of two distinct LD pools, a preexisting and a dynamic LD pool. Here we investigate
the mechanisms of neutral lipid metabolism in the preexisting LD pool. To investigate the
involvement of lysosomal degradation of neutral lipids, we studied the effect of lalistat, a …