Regulation of cardiovascular and cardiac functions by caveolins

Caveolae are intracellular vesicles with diameters ranging from 50 to 100 nm. The role of caveolins in mediating oxidative stress, autophagy, apoptosis, fibrosis, and vascular remodeling has attracted increasing attention in cardiovascular therapy. Several studies have suggested that caveolin could be a therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiac and/or vascular injury via several pathophysiological mechanisms. Despite substantial advances in our understanding of the basic biology of vesicles over the past decade, the relevance and specific role of these mechanisms in cardiovascular homeostasis remains ambiguous. Here, we review the macroscopic role of caveolins in protecting cardiac function and, at the microscopic level, examine possible cardioprotective caveolar mechanisms, including their antioxidative stress, antiapoptosis, autophagy-regulatory, antifibrosis, and angiogenesis-promoting properties. We believe that the role of caveolins in cardiac functioning has not been fully elucidated and is an important line of future research with several cardioprotective implications.