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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Measuring Fast Calcium Fluxes in Cardiomyocytes
Published on: November 29, 2011
Membrane rafts and caveolae in cardiovascular signaling
1Departments of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, California, USA. pinsel@ucsd.edu
Purpose Of Review:
Substantial evidence documents the key role of lipid (membrane) rafts and caveolae as microdomains that concentrate a wide variety of receptors and postreceptor components regulated by hormones, neurotransmitters and growth factors.
Recent Findings:
Recent data document that these microdomains are important in regulating vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells and renal epithelial cells, and particularly in signal transduction across the plasma membrane.
Summary:
Raft/caveolae domains are cellular regions, including in cardiovascular and renal epithelial cells, which organize a large number of signal transduction components, thereby providing spatially and temporally efficient regulation of cell function.
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