title: Cardioprotective Role of Caveolae in Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.
abstract: Caveolae are flask-like invaginations of the plasma membrane enriched in cholesterol, sphingolipids, the marker protein caveolin and the coat protein cavin. In cardiomyocytes, multiple signaling molecules are concentrated and organized within the caveolae to mediate signaling transduction. Recent studies suggest that caveolae and caveolae-associated signaling molecules play an important role in protecting the myocardium against ischemia-reperfusion injury. For example, cardiac-specific overexpression of caveolin-3 has been shown to lead to protection that mimics ischemic preconditioning, while the knockout of caveolin-3 abolished ischemic preconditioning. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways that are involved in caveolae-mediated cardioprotection, and examine the potential for caveolae as a therapeutic target for pharmaceutical intervention to treat cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Center, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Junhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Center, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Center, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kohr
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Center, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murphy
keywords: cardioprotection; caveolae; ischemia-reperfusion