The Role of Caveolae and the Caveolins in Mammalian Physiology

Caveolae are 50-100 nm invaginations of the plasma membrane that have captured the interest of scientists for many decades. However, the wide-ranging and physiologically important roles of these curious structures have only recently been addressed. Among the important milestones in the understanding of caveolae is the discovery of a family of proteins that are intimately involved in caveolar function (the caveolins). It has become clear now that caveolae and their caveolin “marker proteins ” are involved in a variety of cellular processes including endocytosis, lipid homeostasis, signal transduction, and tumorigenesis. In this review, we will highlight the current view of caveolae in cell biology and discuss the relevance of these structures to mammalian physiology