Solving a decades-old structural mystery surrounding the birth of energy-storing lipid droplets

In humans, virtually every cell stores fat. However, patients with a rare condition called congenital lipodystrophy, which is often diagnosed in childhood, cannot properly store fat, which accumulates in the body's organs and increases the risk of early death from heart or liver disease. In 2001, a transmembrane protein called seipin was identified as a molecule essential for proper fat storage, although its mechanism has remained unknown.

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