Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...

Tension Response at Adherens Junctions

Tension Response at Adherens Junctions

The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...

Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles

Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles

Vesicle budding is orchestrated by distinct cytosolic proteins such as adaptor proteins, coat proteins, and GTPases. To initiate vesicle budding, membrane-bending proteins containing crescent-shaped BAR domains bind to the lipid heads in the bilayer and distort the membrane to form a protein-coated vesicle bud. Adaptors proteins such as AP2 for clathrin-coated vesicles can nucleate on the deformed membrane. Finally, coat proteins such as clathrin or COPI and COPII assemble into a coat forming...

Clathrin Coated Vesicles

Clathrin Coated Vesicles

Clathrin-coated vesicles use endocytosis to transport receptors and lysosomal hydrolases from the Golgi to the lysosome in the late secretory pathway. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was the first described endocytic process, and Clathrin-coated vesicles remain one of the most well-studied transport vesicles. The molecular machinery that generates clathrin-coated vesicles comprises over 50 proteins that precisely coordinate vesicle formation. Cell surface receptors concentrated in indented sites...

Tight Junctions

Tight Junctions

Tight junctions are molecular seals between cells that prevent the leaking of fluids, ions, and other small solutes across cavities and compartments in multicellular organisms. They are mainly composed of claudin and occludin transmembrane proteins, and other proteins such as tricellulin and JAM (junctional adhesion molecule). All these proteins are 4-pass transmembrane proteins, except JAM, which is a single-pass transmembrane protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. The...

Gap Junctions

Gap Junctions

The cytoplasm of adjacent animal cells can exchange small molecules, ions, and secondary messengers via the communication channels which form the gap junctions. These junctions comprise a few hundred to thousands of molecular channels, each made of two halves, called the connexon hemichannel. A connexon is a hexamer of six transmembrane connexin proteins, which assemble radially, thus forming a pore or channel in the center. One connexon hemichannel docks with a corresponding connexon on the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Publisher Correction: Growth factor-triggered de-sialylation controls glycolipid-lectin-driven endocytosis.

Nature cell biology·2025

Same author

Growth factor-triggered de-sialylation controls glycolipid-lectin-driven endocytosis.

Nature cell biology·2025

Same author

Concordant inter-laboratory derived concentrations of ceramides in human plasma reference materials via authentic standards.

Nature communications·2024

Same author

Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines BBV152 (COVAXIN®) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (COVISHIELD™) in seronegative and seropositive individuals in India: a multicentre, nonrandomised observational study.

The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia·2024

Same author

Cell biology is….

Cell·2024

Same author

The ubiquitous nanocluster: A molecular scale organizing principle that governs cellular information flow.

Current opinion in cell biology·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Measuring Fast Calcium Fluxes in Cardiomyocytes

Measuring Fast Calcium Fluxes in Cardiomyocytes

Published on: November 29, 2011

Need tension relief fast? Try caveolae.

Satyajit Mayor¹

¹National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, Bangalore, India. mayor@ncbs.res.in

|February 8, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Caveolae act as membrane reservoirs, rapidly buffering physical changes to the cell surface. This protein-driven invagination helps maintain plasma membrane stability under tension.

More Related Videos

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients

Published on: July 16, 2018

Live Imaging Assay for Assessing the Roles of Ca2+ and Sphingomyelinase in the Repair of Pore-forming Toxin Wounds

Live Imaging Assay for Assessing the Roles of Ca²⁺ and Sphingomyelinase in the Repair of Pore-forming Toxin Wounds

Published on: August 25, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Measuring Fast Calcium Fluxes in Cardiomyocytes

Measuring Fast Calcium Fluxes in Cardiomyocytes

Published on: November 29, 2011

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients

Published on: July 16, 2018

Live Imaging Assay for Assessing the Roles of Ca2+ and Sphingomyelinase in the Repair of Pore-forming Toxin Wounds

Live Imaging Assay for Assessing the Roles of Ca²⁺ and Sphingomyelinase in the Repair of Pore-forming Toxin Wounds

Published on: August 25, 2013

Area of Science:

Cell biology
Membrane biophysics

Background:

Caveolae are flask-shaped invaginations of the plasma membrane.
They are primarily composed of caveolin and cavin proteins.
Caveolae play roles in membrane trafficking, signal transduction, and mechanosensing.

Discussion:

The study by Sinha et al. (2011) investigates the dynamic role of caveolae in response to mechanical stress.
It proposes that caveolae function as reservoirs to absorb excess membrane area.
This buffering capacity is crucial for maintaining cell integrity during physical perturbations.

Key Insights:

Caveolae actively participate in regulating plasma membrane tension.
They serve as dynamic reservoirs, releasing or retracting membrane to counteract stretching or compression.
This mechanism allows cells to rapidly adapt to changing physical environments.

Outlook:

Further research can explore the precise molecular mechanisms governing caveolae reservoir function.
Understanding this process could have implications for diseases involving membrane instability.
Investigating caveolae's role in mechanotransduction pathways is a promising future direction.