Sites of Ca(2+) wave initiation move with caveolae to the trailing edge of migrating cells.

The caveola is a membrane domain that compartmentalizes signal transduction at the cell surface. Normally in endothelial cells, groups of caveolae are found clustered along stress fibers or at the lateral margins in all regions of the cell. Subsets of these clusters appear to contain the signaling machinery for initiating Ca(2+) wave formation. Here we report that induction of cell migration, either by wounding a cell monolayer or by exposing cells to laminar shear stress, causes caveolae to move to the trailing edge of the cell. Concomitant with the relocation of the caveolae, sites of Ca(2+) wave initiation move to the same location. In as much as the relocated caveolae contain elements of the signaling machinery required for ATP-stimulated release of Ca(2+) from the ER, these results suggest that caveolae function as containers that carry this machinery to different cellular locations.