Caveolae
In biology, caveolae (Latin for little caves, singular: caveola), which are a special type of lipid raft, are small (50–100 nanometer) invaginations of the plasma membrane in many vertebrate cell types, especially in endothelial cells and adipocytes.
These flask-shaped structures are rich in proteins as well as lipids such as cholesterol and sphingolipids and have several functions in signal transduction.[1] They are also believed to play a role in endocytosis, oncogenesis, and the uptake of pathogenic bacteria and certain viruses.[2][3][4]
Caveolae are one source of clathrin-independent endocytosis involved in turnover of adhesive complexes.
Formation and maintenance of caveolae is primarily due to the protein caveolin,[5] a 21 kD protein. This protein has both a cytoplasmic C-terminus and a cytoplasmic N-terminus, linked together by a hydrophobic hairpin that is inserted into the membrane. The presence of caveolin leads to the local change in morphology of the membrane.
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[edit] Inhibitors
Some known inhibitors of the Caveolae pathway are Filipin III, Genistein and Nystatin.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Anderson RG (1998). "The caveolae membrane system". Annu. Rev. Biochem. 67: 199–225. doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.67.1.199. PMID 9759488. http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.biochem.67.1.199?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- ^ Frank P, Lisanti M (2004). "Caveolin-1 and caveolae in atherosclerosis: differential roles in fatty streak formation and neointimal hyperplasia". Curr Opin Lipidol 15 (5): 523–9. doi:10.1097/00041433-200410000-00005. PMID 15361787.
- ^ Li X, Everson W, Smart E (2005). "Caveolae, lipid rafts, and vascular disease". Trends Cardiovasc Med 15 (3): 92–6. doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2005.04.001. PMID 16039968.
- ^ Pelkmans L (2005). "Secrets of caveolae- and lipid raft-mediated endocytosis revealed by mammalian viruses". Biochim Biophys Acta 1746 (3): 295–304. doi:10.1016/j.bbamcr.2005.06.009. PMID 16126288.
- ^ MeSH Caveolae
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