ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2025
Superstable lipid vacuoles endow cartilage with its shape and biomechanics.
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Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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14citing papers in PubMed
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Smart functionalized cartilage repair microspheres: Concepts and applications.Materials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Standardized protocols for analyzing lipocartilage and lipochondrocytes.Nature protocols · 2026Article
- Isolation, purification and characterization of lipocartilage in mice.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Advances in Biomaterials for Tissue Regeneration: From Scaffold Design to CAP-Enabled Interfaces and AI-Driven Optimization.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Liver Stiffness Rises Early in MASLD and Drives Inflammation, Lipid Dysmetabolism, and Fibrosis via Piezo1-YAP Mechanotransduction.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- The molecular evolution of vertebrate organs.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Review
- A self-assembled nano micelle-exosome with high selectivity and penetrability achieves precise intracartilage lipid delivery.Science advances · 2025Article
- Cationic Peptoids for Systemic In Vivo Cartilage-Targeting.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Wnt Activation in Mature Dermal Adipocytes Leads to Lipodystrophy and Skin Fibrosis via ATGL-Dependent Lipolysis.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Organizational principles of integumentary organs: Maximizing variations for effective adaptation.Developmental biology · 2025Review
- Article
- Article
- Short histological kaleidoscope - recent findings in histology. Part V. About tendons, ligaments, and cartilages.Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologieReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
53 authors.
Raul RamosDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0853-1028
Kim T PhamDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0000-3598-9144
Richard C PrinceDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1199-9465
Leith B Leiser-MillerDepartment of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-4670-4920
Maneeshi S PrasadDivision of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0813-4153
Xiaojie WangDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Rachel C NordbergDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6047-6009
Benjamin J BielajewDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0580-9864
Jerry C HuDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0651-1461
Kosuke YamagaDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Ji Won OhDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5742-5120
Tao PengDepartment of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Rupsa DattaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6432-2389
Aksana AstrowskajaScientific Research Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Grodna State Medical University, Grodna, Belarus.ORCID 0000-0003-3513-2014
Axel A AlmetDepartment of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9173-8278
John T BurnsDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4628-8535
Yuchen LiuDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-0909-4453
Christian Fernando Guerrero-JuarezDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6245-6412
Bryant Q TranDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Yi-Lin ChuDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0000-3823-2016
Anh M NguyenDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Tsai-Ching HsiDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Norman T-L LimNational Institute of Education, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.ORCID 0000-0001-7350-6975
Sandra SchoenigerInstitute of Veterinary Pathology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-6742-011X
Ruiqi LiuDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Yun-Ling PaiSue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-9445-4642
Chella K VadivelSue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3710-5143
Sandy InglebyAustralian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0005-5135-3740
Andrew E McKechnieMammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-1524-1021
Frank van BreukelenSchool of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9653-0273
Kyle L HoehnSchool of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0214-3238
John J RasweilerDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6049-2372
Michinori KoharaDepartment of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.
William J LoughryValdosta State University, Valdosta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8214-9893
Scott H WeldySerrano Animal and Bird Hospital, Lake Forest, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-4628-4192
Raymond CosperSanta Ana Zoo, Santa Ana, CA, USA.
Chao-Chun YangDepartment of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0002-3897-6522
Sung-Jan LinInstitute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine and College of Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0003-1325-3464
Kimberly L CooperDepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5892-8838
Sharlene E SantanaDepartment of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6463-3569
Jeffrey E BradleyDepartment of Mammalogy, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7390-2978
Michael A KiebishBPGbio, Inc., Framingham, MA, USA.
Michelle DigmanCenter for Complex Biological Systems, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4611-7100
David E JamesCharles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5946-5257
Amy E MerrillCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3660-1575
Qing NieDepartment of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8804-3368
Thomas F SchillingDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1798-8695
Aliaksandr A AstrowskiThe Institute of Biochemistry of Biologically Active Compounds, Grodna, Belarus.ORCID 0000-0001-8647-3922
Eric O PotmaDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3916-6131
Martín I García-CastroDivision of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
Kyriacos A AthanasiouDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5387-8405
Richard R BehringerDepartment of Genetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7282-1543
Maksim V PlikusDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8845-2559
Funding
MINORITY BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS PROGRAMR25GM055246 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI MOTA-BRAVO, LUIS M · 1996 to 2022
$15.3MTHE ROLE OF ATROPHIN-2 IN CARTILAGE PATTERNING AND POLARITY IN ZEBRAFISHR01DE013828 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI SCHILLING, THOMAS F · 2001 to 2025
$9.1MMolecular Interactions During Neural Crest FormationR01DE017914 · NIDCR · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI GARCIA-CASTRO, MARTIN I. · 2007 to 2025
$6.3MTMJ Disc RegenerationR01DE015038 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI ATHANASIOU, KYRIACOS A · 2004 to 2022
$6.1MUCI P30 Skin Center Systems Biology CoreP30AR075047 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI ANDERSEN, BOGI, GANESAN, ANAND K · 2019 to 2025
$5.1MNRSA Training CoreTL1TR001415 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI CAIOZZO, VINCENT JAMES, HEAD, ELIZABETH · 2015 to 2023
$4.2MTrem2-mediated microglia-neuronal axis in Alzheimer disease pathogenesisR01AG073182 · NIA · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · PI D'ADAMIO, LUCIANO · 2021 to 2025
$3.9MRegulation of Morphogenesis and Extracellular Matrix Assembly at the Myotendinous JunctionR01AR067797 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Thomas F Schilling · 2016 to 2026
$3.5MMultiscale Models of Wound Cell Plasticity for RegenerationU01AR073159 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI DAI, XING, NIE, QING · 2018 to 2022
$3.5MDissecting single cell dynamics that coordinate neural crest migration and diversificationR01DE030565 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI NIE, QING, SCHILLING, THOMAS F · 2021 to 2025
$2.8MTissue Size and Precision Control in Growing Hair FolliclesR01AR079150 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Qing Nie, Maksim V Plikus · 2022 to 2026
$2.7MLeveraging immune-fibroblast interactions for biomaterial induced skin regenerationR01AR079470 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI SCUMPIA, PHILIP · 2021 to 2025
$2.6MNCATS NIH HHS TL1 TR001415NIAMS NIH HHS P30 AR075047NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR067797NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR067821NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR071457NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR078389NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR079150NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR079470NIAMS NIH HHS R21 AR078939NIAMS NIH HHS U01 AR073159NIA NIH HHS R01 AG073182NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD090629NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE013828NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE015038NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE017914NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE030565NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM152494NIGMS NIH HHS R25 GM055246
Abstract
Conventionally, the size, shape, and biomechanics of cartilages are determined by their voluminous extracellular matrix. By contrast, we found that multiple murine cartilages consist of lipid-filled cells called lipochondrocytes. Despite resembling adipocytes, lipochondrocytes were molecularly distinct and produced lipids exclusively through de novo lipogenesis. Consequently, lipochondrocytes grew uniform lipid droplets that resisted systemic lipid surges and did not enlarge upon obesity. Lipochondrocytes also lacked lipid mobilization factors, which enabled exceptional vacuole stability and protected cartilage from shrinking upon starvation. Lipid droplets modulated lipocartilage biomechanics by decreasing the tissue's stiffness, strength, and resilience. Lipochondrocytes were found in multiple mammals, including humans, but not in nonmammalian tetrapods. Thus, analogous to bubble wrap, superstable lipid vacuoles confer skeletal tissue with cartilage-like properties without "packing foam-like" extracellular matrix.
Indexed as
CartilageExtracellular MatrixLipid DropletsVacuolesAdipocytesAnimalsBiomechanical PhenomenaHumansLipid MetabolismLipogenesisMiceObesity
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.