biosights: September 5, 2011

The actin cytoskeleton has been proposed to regulate exocytosis in many different ways. Nightingale et al. use a two-color, live-cell imaging assay to reveal two contrasting functions of actin in distinct stages of Weibel–Palade body secretion: actin-based anchors inhibit the fusion of these secretory granules with the plasma membrane but, post-fusion, a contractile actin ring squeezes granule content out of the cell. This biosights episode presents the paper by Nightingale et al. from the August 22, 2011, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology, and includes an interview with authors Thomas Nightingale and Daniel Cutler (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, London, UK). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short.

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