Caveolae in smooth muscles: nanocontacts

One of the most striking ultrastructural features of the smooth muscle cells (SMC) is the ordered strands of caveolae on their surface. Caveolae are flask- or Ω-shaped (Fig. 1) plasmalemmal nanodomains and their structural identity was discovered 50 years ago by transmission electron microscopy [1, 2]. Caveolae seem to be steady-state plasma membrane domains with a lipid and protein composition favoring many different functions [reviews: 3–14]. It was supposed Available online at www.jcmm.ro www.jcmm.or