NOS3 and Obesity: In the saphenous arteries of diet-induced obese rats, the levels of caveolin-1 monomers and oligomeric complexes of caveolin-1 and -2 were reported to increase in membrane-enriched samples, potentially impairing eNOS dissociation from caveolin-1 and compromising NO-mediated vasodilation; nonetheless, obesity was not shown to affect eNOS or caveolin-3 expression in these rats [166].