The Role of Lipid Droplets for the Development of Oocytesand Preimplantation Embryos in Mammals
Lipids are among the most common and important cell components. In particular, cytoplasmic lipid droplets (LDs) play a crucial role in cellular energy metabolism. The main emphasizes of this review are made on the modern approaches to study intracellular lipids, their composition and the role of LDs in the oocyte maturation and the early embryonic development. Recent studies show that LDs in oocytes and embryos functioning not only as storage of the energy substrate, but may be considered as active intracellular structures that perform many other functions.