Caveolin 1

Caveolin-1 is a 21 kDa integral membrane protein that functions as a principal structural component of invaginated caveolae in most mammalian cells. Although numerous studies indicate that caveolin-1 plays a role in signal transduction from caveolae, the molecular mechanisms of how caveolin-1 regulates cell signaling are still not well understood. The most popular hypothesis is that caveolin-1 may physically organize the signaling activity of multiple signaling molecules, in some cases, by its scaffolding domain (amino acids 82-101). Another hypothesis is that caveolin-1 functions to maintain the proper biological properties of caveolae, which may be necessary for signal transduction from this domain. One more postulated function of caveolin-1 is that caveolin-1 may bind to cholesterol and be involved in intracellular cholesterol transport.