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 the cells of many vertebrates.

Studies on the structure and function of caveolae have revealed how this versatile subcellular organelle can influence numerous signalling pathways. This brief review will discuss a few of the key features of caveolae as it relates to signalling and disease processes.

Caveolin forms oligomers and associates with cholesterol and sphingolipids in certain areas of the cell membrane, leading to the formation of caveolae. The caveolins are similar in structure. They all form hairpin loops that are inserted into the cell membrane. Both the C-terminus and the N-terminus face the cytoplasmic side of the membrane.

Feb 21, 2012 · Caveolae are invaginations of the plasma membrane with a defined omega (Ω) shape and a diameter of 60–80 nm (Figure 1). Caveolae, which can only be unambiguously identified by electron microscopy, were first noticed in 1953 by G.E. Palade and were described and named ‘caveola intracellularis’ by E. Yamada in 1955.

Apr 10, 2003 · Caveolae are 50- to 100-nm cell-surface plasma membrane invaginations observed in terminally differentiated cells. They are particularly abundant in endothelial cells, where they are believed to play a major role in the regulation of endothelial vesicular trafficking and signal transduction.

It is now clear that caveolae do not merely play a singular role in the cell, but are pleiotropic in nature—serving to modulate many cellular functions. The purpose of this review is to explicate what is known about caveolins/caveolae and highlight growing areas of caveolar research.

Jan 5, 2012 · Caveolae or “small caves” were originally identified as 50–100 nm flask-shaped, non-clathrin-coated invaginations of the plasma membrane (Palade, 1953, 1961; Yamada, 1953; Palade and Bruns, 1968).

Caveolae are a subset of lipid rafts that are enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids. Caveolae are expressed in various tissues and cell types, such as smooth muscle, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, macrophages and adipocytes.

Jan 6, 2012 · Caveolae are cholesterol and glycosphingolipid-rich flask-shaped invaginations of the plasma membrane which are particularly abundant in vascular endothelium and present in all other cell types of the cardiovascular system, including vascular smooth-muscle cells, macrophages, cardiac myocytes, and fibroblasts.

In this review, we summarize the events leading to caveola formation as well as the roles of caveolae in different cell types.