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Nature Cell Biology 7, 8–9 (1 January 2005) | doi:10.1038/ncb0105-8

A phosphatase for cofilin to be HAD

O'Neil Wiggan , Barbara W. Bernstein & James R. Bamburg

On page 21 of this issue, Gohla et al. report the exciting discovery of a new, rather unusual activator of cofilin, a member of the actin-depolymerizing factor/cofilin family known to be ubiquitous and potent regulators of actin dynamics in all eukaryotes. The dynamics of actin assembly and disassembly are essential for most cellular processes that involve movement, and cofilin is the major calcium-independent regulator of these dynamics.