Abstract
Caveolae are unique organelles that are found in the plasma membrane of many cell types. They participate in various processes such as lipid recycling, cellular signalling and endocytosis. A variety of signalling molecules localize to caveolae in response to various stimuli, providing a potential mechanism for the spatial regulation of signal transduction pathways. Caveolin-1, a constitutive protein of caveolae, has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth, lipid trafficking, endocytosis and cell migration. Phosphorylation of caveolin-1 on Tyr 14 is involved in integrin-regulated caveolae trafficking and also in signalling at focal adhesions in migrating cells. In this review, we focus on recent studies that describe the role of caveolin-1 in integrin signal transduction, and how this interplay links extracellular matrix anchorage to cell proliferation, polarity and directional migration.