A recent report in BMC Cell Biology examines how the balance of extracellular forces and intracellular contractions regulate the shape changes required for oligodendrocyte myelination. A failure of remyelination such as seen in multiple sclerosis could be caused by loss of this balance.
MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research, The University of Edinburgh, Queen's Medical Research Institute, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK. nina.g.bauer@ed.ac.uk