Paul A. Insel talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Fast Breaking Paper in the field of
Pharmacology & Toxicology.
Article Title: Caveolae as organizers of
pharmacologically relevant signal transduction
molecules
Authors: Patel, HH;Murray,
F;Insel,
PA
Journal: ANNU REV PHARMACOL TOXICOL
Volume: 48
Issue:
Page: :359-391
Year: 2008
* Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Anesthesia, La Jolla, CA 92093
USA.
* Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Anesthesia, La Jolla, CA 92093
USA.
* Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Pharmacol, La Jolla, CA 92093
USA.
* Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Med, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA.
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
This review article is a general one that addresses a broad topic:
compartmentation in the cellular plasma membrane of signal transduction
molecules, which is of considerable current interest to investigators in
many different specific research areas.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
In the article, my colleagues and I summarize findings for a wide variety
of hormone/drug receptor systems. The recognition that cells have what are
akin to "signaling factories," some of which are located in lipid/membrane
rafts and caveolae (rafts that contain the protein caveolin), has been
found in many cell types and contributes to normal function and disease, in
particular in the cardiovascular system, which we emphasize in this review
article.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
Future work will likely help define the precise molecular mechanisms for
localization, entry and exit of signaling molecules in rafts/caveolae and
whether regulation of such localization can be exploited as a therapeutic
target.
Paul A. Insel, M.D.
Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine
Vice-Chair, Department of Pharmacology
University of California San Diego, School of Medicine
La Jolla, CA, USA