Schlegel A, Volonte D, Engelman J A, Galbiati F, Mehta P, Zhang X L, Scherer P E, Lisanti M P
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Cell Signal. 1998 Jul;10(7):457-63. doi: 10.1016/s0898-6568(98)00007-2.
Caveolae are small vesicular invaginations of the cell membrane. It is within this organelle that cells perform transcytosis, potocytosis and signal transduction. These "little caves" are composed of a mixture of lipids and proteins unlike those found in the plasma membrane proper. The chief structural proteins of caveolae are caveolins. To date, three caveolins (Cav-1, -2 and -3) with unique tissue distributions have been identified. Caveolins form a scaffold onto which many signalling molecules can assemble, to generate pre-assembled signalling complexes. In addition to concentrating these signal transducers within a distinct region of the plasma membrane, caveolin binding may functionally regulate the activation state of caveolae-associated signalling molecules.
小窝是细胞膜的小泡状内陷结构。细胞的转胞吞作用、吞饮小泡运输和信号转导正是在这个细胞器内进行的。这些“小洞穴”由脂质和蛋白质的混合物组成，与正常质膜中的成分不同。小窝的主要结构蛋白是小窝蛋白。迄今为止，已鉴定出三种具有独特组织分布的小窝蛋白（Cav-1、-2和-3）。小窝蛋白形成一个支架，许多信号分子可以在其上组装，以生成预组装的信号复合物。除了将这些信号转导分子集中在质膜的一个特定区域外，小窝蛋白的结合可能在功能上调节与小窝相关的信号分子的激活状态。
