The caveolae dress code: structure and signaling

- New studies bring key insights in the resolving of the caveolar coat structure.
- Within the caveola, caveolins and cavins organize a signaling-hub.
- Deregulation of caveolar components induces a broad range of pathologies.

Over the past decade, interest in caveolae biology has peaked. These small bulb-shaped plasma membrane invaginations of 50-80 nm diameter present in most cell types have been upgraded from simple membrane structures to a more complex bona fide organelle. However, although caveolae are involved in several essential cellular functions and pathologies, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly defined. Following the identification of caveolins and cavins as the main caveolae constituents, recent studies have brought new insight into their structural organization as a coat. In this review, we discuss how these new data on caveolae can be integrated in the context of their role in signaling and pathophysiology.