Caveolae-induced Endocytosis

The original model of the plasma membrane, in which it was assumed that the membrane-building lipids and proteins are homogeneously distributed within the membrane, has been modified in recent years. It has been shown that transient areas can form within the membrane where reduced fluidity prevails due to a higher proportion of glycosphingolipids, cholesterol and GPI (glycosylphosphatidylinositol, e.g. GM1)-anchored proteins (Simons K et al. 1997). Because of their restricted lateral mobility within these microdomains, they are referred to as lipid rafts.

The transport into the cell bypassing the lysosomal compartments makes this uptake mechanism particularly interesting for the rational development of new drug delivery systems (Bathori et al. 2004). Knowledge of the transport pathways of internalized substances is therefore the first step for this development.

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