Special delivery: dynamic targeting via cortical capture of microtubules

Gap junction formation depends on the proper transport of connexin hemichannels to sites of cell-cell contact. Recently in Cell, Shaw et al. implicate microtubule tip tracking proteins in the trafficking of connexin43 to adherens junctions (Shaw et al., 2007). This finding suggests a mechanism for targeted delivery of membrane proteins by microtubule capture at the cortex.