Molecular cloning of human caveolin 3.

We isolated a full-length cDNA encoding human caveolin 3, which is 72% and 59% homologous to human caveolin 1 and caveolin 2, respectively. Human caveolin 3 protein contains the 'caveolin signature sequence' and the 33 amino acids spanning intramembrane domain common to all caveolins. Northern blot analysis indicates that the caveolin 3 transcript is 1.6 kb in size and exclusively detectable in muscle tissue.