Recovery Mechanism of Endoplasmic Reticulum Revealed by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging in Live Cells

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important organelle of a membranous tubule network in cells for the synthesis, assembly, and modification of peptides, proteins, and enzymes. Autophagy and destruction of ER commonly occur during normal cellular activities. These processes have been studied extensively, but the spontaneous ER regeneration process is poorly understood because of the lack of molecular tools capable of distinguishing the intact, damaged, autophagic, and regenerative ER in live cells. Herein, we report a dual-localizing, environment-responsive, and lifetime-sensitive fluorescent probe for real-time monitoring ER autophagy and regeneration in live cells. Using this tool, the fluorescence lifetime imaging can quantitatively determine the degrees of ER destruction and spontaneous recovery. Significantly, we show that triglycerides supplied in lipid droplets can efficiently repair ER via the two critical pathways: (i) supplying materials for ER repair by converting triglycerides into fatty acids and diglycerides and (ii) partially inhibiting autophagy for stressed ER.