Brief encounter

At first glance, some of the cell's communication proteins seem ill-suited for the job. They are embedded in the outer layer of the plasma membrane and have no direct connection to the cell interior. Yet they manage to relay signals across the membrane. The proteins tend to congregate, and on page 169, Chen et al. show that this gregariousness might enable them to link to the cytoskeleton, a step necessary to pass on messages.

The study focused on GPI-anchored proteins (GPIAPs), some of which interconnect and spur cell division. Cross-linked GPIAPs band together with lipids and other molecules to form clusters that travel together around the membrane. Scientists suspect that these structures permit communication, but they do not understand the mechanism.

By treating fibroblasts with gold particles coated...