TY - JOUR T1 - Caveolae: From Cell Biology to Animal Physiology JF - Pharmacological Reviews JO - Pharmacol Rev SP - 431 LP - 467 DO - 10.1124/pr.54.3.431 VL - 54 IS - 3 AU - Babak Razani AU - Scott E. Woodman AU - Michael P. Lisanti Y1 - 2002/09/01 UR - http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/54/3/431.abstract N2 - Among the membrane compartments of a cell, vesicles known as “caveolae” have long defied functional characterization. However, since the identification of a family of proteins termed “caveolins”, that form and reside in caveolae, a better understanding has emerged. It is now clear that caveolae do not merely play a singular role in the cell, but are pleiotropic in nature—serving to modulate many cellular functions. The purpose of this review is to explicate what is known about caveolins/caveolae and highlight growing areas of caveolar research. ER -