A DETERGENT-FREE METHOD FOR PURIFYING CAVEOLAE MEMBRANE FROM TISSUE-CULTURE CELLS

Current methods for purifying caveolae from tissue culture cells take advantage of the Triton X-100 insolubility of this membrane domain. To circumvent the use of detergents, we have developed a method that dep ends upon the unique buoyant density of caveolae membrane. The caveola e fractions that we obtain are highly enriched in caveolin. As a conse quence we are able to identify caveolae-associated proteins that had p reviously gone undetected. Moreover, resident caveolae proteins that a re soluble in Triton X-100 are retained during the isolation.