The plasma membrane is more than a simple delimitation of the boundary of the cell but is a dynamic multi-domain membrane system participating in numerous cellular processes. In many different cell types, the plasma membrane is heavily decorated with small pits of 60–80 nm in diameter, which constitute a specialized type of microdomain called caveolae. Nowadays, almost 60 years after the first observation of caveolae (Palade, 1953), these enigmatic structures are still a hot topic in cellular biology with questions remaining regarding their formation, regulation, and functions in different cell types and in pathological scenarios.
The discovery of the caveolin proteins greatly advanced the study of caveolae, particularly with the subsequent demonstration that caveolin expression induces, and is required for, the formation of caveolae (Drab et al., 2001; Fra et al., 1995; Razani et al., 2001). Caveolins are now known to constitute a family...
