Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

A Mimic of the Tumor Microenvironment: A Simple Method for Generating Enriched Cell Populations and Investigating Intercellular Communication
Published on: September 20, 2016
The biology of caveolae: achievements and perspectives
1School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Abstract:
Caveolae are specialized plasma membrane subdomains visualized more than 50 years ago as cave-like invaginations at the cell surface. They are rich in cholesterol, glycosphingolipids, and lipid-anchored proteins. Their signaling and trafficking capabilities influence multiple cellular processes, and are believed to require caveolin-1, a major protein component of caveolae in most cell types. Today the structure and functions of caveolae are still the objects of intense research. Caveolin-1 is not anymore the only protein known to be required for caveolae formation, and functions for caveolin-1 outside of caveolae are being unveiled. Studying the phenotype of mice lacking caveolae has largely confirmed the roles attributed to this organelle and its defining protein. The consequences of mutation of ablation of caveolins in human disease are emerging. Recent evidence further suggests that caveolae and caveolin can be targeted for therapeutic purposes.
Related Concept Videos
COP Coated Vesicles
Introduction to Membrane Traffic
The transport of soluble and membrane proteins is mediated by transport vesicles that collect cargo from one cellular compartment and deliver it to another by fusing with the target organelle membrane. The Rab...
Membrane Domains
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the anterior...
Clathrin Coated Vesicles
Transport Across the Golgi
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles

