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caveola

An invagination, 50-100 nm in diameter, of the plasma membrane resulting from integration of caveolin-1 into lipid rafts. Polymerization of caveolins may play of role. [2] The caveolae may dissociate from the membrane & form intracellular vesicles. Constituents: 1) lipids - cholesterol 2) proteins a) integral membrane proteins - caveolin 1 & 2 - synaptobrevin 2 b) signaling molecules - heterotrimeric G proteins - nonreceptor tyrosine kinases - RAS - eNOS c) motor/transport proteins - dynamin - N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein (NSF) Function: 1) endocytosis (alternate endocytic pathway to clathrin coated pits) 2) transcytosis

Related

caveolin intracellular vesicle

General

lipid rafts; detergent-insoluble glycolipid-rich domains (DIGs); glycolipid-enriched membranes (GEMs); low-density Triton-insoluble (LDTI) complexes

References

  1. Galbiati et al, Cell 106:403, 2001
  2. Simon & Toomre, Nature Reviews 1:31, 2000
  3. Marx J. Science 294:1862, 2001
  4. Carver & Schnitzer. Nature Reviews Cancer 3:571-81, 2003