Glial Cell Evolution: The Origins of a Lipid Store Klaus-Armin Nave, Iva D. Tzvetanova, Stefanie Schirmeier  Cell Metabolism  Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages 701-702 (November 2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.10.011 Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Hypothetical Evolution of Lipid Storage in Glial Cells Hypothetical model of neuron-glia metabolic coupling in the nervous system, depicting (on the left) a generic glial cell associated with synapse and axon. Indicated are the glia-to-neuron “lactate shuttle,” the neuron-to-glia transfer of lipids, and the accumulation of LDs as proposed by Liu et al. (2017). The glial cell on the right (an oligodendrocyte) is associated with an axonal segment that has been wrapped with a lipid-rich myelin membrane. Myelin is hypothesized here to constitute an alternative large lipid reservoir, fueled in part by (lactate-derived) NAA, which is taken up from the neuronal compartment. In vertebrates, myelination of axons by glial cells enables rapid nerve conduction. Cell Metabolism 2017 26, 701-702DOI: (10.1016/j.cmet.2017.10.011) Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions