Caveolin is a hairpin-like protein that is embedded in the plasma membrane, with both the N-terminal and C-terminal located in the cytoplasm. The protein components of caveolae, including caveolins, cavins, and pacsin/syndapin, are critical for their formation and function. The lipid components of caveolae consist of cholesterol, sphingomyelin, glycosphingolipids, and saturated fatty acids. Using transmission electron microscopy, caveolae were described as a bulb-shaped or cuplike uncoated invagination, which is different from other membrane subdomains such as clathrin-coated pits. They are a subset of lipid rafts because of their unique structure.
Caveolae are 50–100 nm wide plasma membrane pits and are one of the most significant morphological characteristics of mammalian cells, rich in cholesterol, sphingolipids, and a complete family of membrane proteins called caveolin.
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