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The lipid droplet (LD)-associated protein adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP or PLIN2) is required for the formation and stability of the LD organelle, whereas its biological roles are still obscure. Herein, we show that PLIN2 is the most abundant protein on the lipid droplets (LDs) of mouse myoblast cell line C2C12. Both the expression of PLIN2 and the accumulation of LDs were up-regulated in a time- and dose-dependent manner when the cells were treated with oleate (OA). The protein level of PLIN2 was positively correlated with the formation of LDs, suggesting that LDs stabilize PLIN2. Furthermore, knocking out PLIN2 in C2C12 cells led to enlarged LDs and higher triacylglycerol hydrolysis activity. The isolated PLIN2 null LDs became closely contact with mitochondria and other cellular organelles. Additionally, mitochondrial activity was suppressed by OA in PLIN2 null cells. Our results reveal the pivotal roles of PLIN2 in governing LD dynamics and their relationship to mitochondria, and suggest a reciprocal stabilization between PLIN2 and LDs.

Identification of the coding elements in the genome is fundamental to interpret the development of living systems and species diversity. Small peptides (length < 100 amino acids) have played an important role in regulating the biological metabolism, but their identification has been limited by their size and abundance. Serum is the most important body fluid and is full of small peptides. In this study, we have established a small ORF-encoded peptides (SEPs) database from mouse GENCODE release. This database provides about half a million putative translated SEPs in mouse. We also extract serum proteins from wild type and ob/obmice, and collect the low molecular weight proteins for mass spectrometric analysis. More than 50 novel SEPs have been discovered. Several SEPs are further verified by biochemical method with newly raised antibodies. These novel SEPs enhance the knowledge about the complexity of serum and provide new clues for the annotation and functional analysis of genes, especially the noncoding elements in the genome.

High-performance piezoresistive sensors have the potential for human health monitoring applications. However, the conductive ink should add adhesive to ensure the hydrophobic carbon-based conductive material uniformly, which decrease the sensitivity. We fabricated a piezoresistive sensor without any adhesive polymer by introduced multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and carbon black (CB) into the skeletons of the melamine sponge (MS) via a simple hydrothermal method. Due to the crosslinking effect, the microporous structure and strong adsorption of the of conductive MWCNTs and CB, the MWCNTs@CB sensor exhibits excellent performance: a sensitivity of 48.26 kPa−1in the working range of 12.5 kPa–20 kPa, a response time of 15 ms, an low detection limit of 20 Pa, and performance stability (>250,000 loading cycles). This MWCNTs@CB flexible pressure sensor can detect physiological motions.