A study now shows that the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery plays a part in plasma membrane repair. There are five ESCRT complexes: ESCRT-0, ESCRT-I, ESCRT-II, ESCRT-III and ESCRT-disassembly subcomplex. Jimenez et al. observed that CHMP4B — an ESCRT-III accessory protein that is required for all known functions of ESCRTs — localized to the plasma membrane of HeLa cells after they were wounded. Other ESCRT-III subunits (CHMP2A, CHMP2B and CHMP3) colocalized with CHMP4B. Interestingly, depletion of CHMP2A compromised the closure of holes smaller than 100 nm, and ESCRT-III function was found to be necessary for the survival of cells harbouring small wounds. The authors also observed the presence of extracellular buds and the shedding of ESCRT-positive membranes at wounded sites and proposed that “ESCRT-III proteins play a central role in repairing local injuries by ensuring extracellular shedding of damaged areas.”