Glycosphingolipid Mediated Caveolin-1 Oligomerization

-ethylenedioxyphenyl-2-palmitoylamino-3-pyrrolidino-propanol, fumonisin B1 and myriocin. The depletion of glycosphingolipids resulted in the loss of high molecular mass oligomers of caveolin-1 in plasma membranes of cultured ECV-304 cells as well as in the caveolar fractions of Hela cells as measured by immunoblotting. The disruption of caveolin-1 high molecular weight oligomer formation caused by changes of composition of glycosphingolipids may be directly involved in the interruption of cellular functions including caveolar stabilization, membrane trafficking and signal transduction. These results suggest a specific role for glycosphingolipidsin the caveolar co-localization and oligomerization of caveolin-1.