The two main mechanisms that lead to the breakdown of lipid granules are lipolysis and lipophagy.
- Lipolysis occurs in the adipose tissue. In this process, lipid granules are broken down by hydrolysis into their two main components – glycerol and fatty acids.
- Lipophagy involves the selective autophagic degradation of intracellular lipid granules, which are the main lipid storage organelles in eukaryotic cells.