title: Caveolae - mechanosensitive membrane invaginations linked to actin filaments.
abstract: An essential property of the plasma membrane of mammalian cells is its plasticity, which is required for sensing and transmitting of signals, and for accommodating the tensional changes imposed by its environment or its own biomechanics. Caveolae are unique invaginated membrane nanodomains that play a major role in organizing signaling, lipid homeostasis and adaptation to membrane tension. Caveolae are frequently associated with stress fibers, a major regulator of membrane tension and cell shape. In this Commentary, we discuss recent studies that have provided new insights into the function of caveolae and have shown that trafficking and organization of caveolae are tightly regulated by stress-fiber regulators, providing a functional link between caveolae and stress fibers. Furthermore, the tension in the plasma membrane determines the curvature of caveolae because they flatten at high tension and invaginate at low tension, thus providing a tension-buffering system. Caveolae also regulate multiple cellular pathways, including RhoA-driven actomyosin contractility and other mechanosensitive pathways, suggesting that caveolae could couple mechanotransduction pathways to actin-controlled changes in tension through their association with stress fibers. Therefore, we argue here that the association of caveolae with stress fibers could provide an important strategy for cells to deal with mechanical stress.
authors.affiliation: Integrin Signaling Laboratory, Cell Biology & Physiology Program, Cell & Developmental Biology Area, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3, Madrid 28029, Spain aecharri@cnic.es madelpozo@cnic.es.
authors.forename: Asier
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Echarri
authors.affiliation: Integrin Signaling Laboratory, Cell Biology & Physiology Program, Cell & Developmental Biology Area, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3, Madrid 28029, Spain aecharri@cnic.es madelpozo@cnic.es.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Del Pozo
mesh_terms: D000205:Actomyosin / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D021941:Caveolae / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport; D015398:Signal Transduction; D022502:Stress Fibers / Q000378:metabolism*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000205:Actomyosin; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein
keywords: Caveolae; Mechanotransduction; Stress fibers