Use of BODIPY (493/503) to visualize intramuscular lipid droplets in skeletal muscle

Abstract

Triglyceride storage is altered across various chronic health conditions necessitating various techniques to visualize and quantify lipid droplets (LDs). Here, we describe the utilization of the BODIPY (493/503) dye in skeletal muscle as a means to analyze LDs. We found that the dye was a convenient and simple approach to visualize LDs in both sectioned skeletal muscle and cultured adult single fibers. Furthermore, the dye was effective in both fixed and nonfixed cells, and the staining seemed unaffected by permeabilization. We believe that the use of the BODIPY (493/503) dye is an acceptable alternative and, under certain conditions, a simpler method for visualizing LDs stored within skeletal muscle. Copyright © 2011 Espen E. Spangenburg et al.