Speaker: Professor Paul Pilch
Boston University School of Medicine
Boston - USA

HOST

Dr.Antonio Zorzano, IRB Barcelona

ABSTRACT

It has been known for a long while that the adipocyte cell surface is particularly rich in small invaginations we now know to be caveolae. These structures are common to many cell types but are absent in hepatocytes and neurons and are fomed, in part, by the expression of caveolin isoforms. Caveolae have generated considerable curiosity as manifested by the numerous publications on the topic that describe various, sometimes contradictory caveolae functions. Recent work from our own and other labs has established that the cavin family of coat proteins is required for caveolae formation. Knocking out cavin-1 eliminates caveolae in all tissues studied and leads to a lipodystrophic phenotype. Thus in the fat cell, caveolae modulate fatty acid flux across the plasma membrane and may serve to modulate glucose transporter trafficking as well. Other functions for adipocyte caveolae that have been postulated include participation in signal transduction and it will require further experimental scrutiny to resolve controversies surrounding these possible activities. 

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