The apical surfaces of polarized epithelia are covered by short, actin-rich protrusions called microvilli, but what happens to these structures when cells detach from a monolayer during development or disease is unclear. Klingner et al. reveal that non-confluent epithelial cells form longer, more dynamic microvilli on their apical surface that connect to a cortical actomyosin network. This biosights episode presents the paper by Klingner et al. from the October 13, 2014, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Roland Wedlich-Söldner (University of Münster, Germany). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.
4