ESCRT machinery: Damage control at the nuclear membrane

Rupture of the nuclear envelope (NE) during interphase is thought to be an infrequent event in healthy cells. Two papers recently published in Science describe the transient disruption of the NE continuity in cells migrating through confined spaces, and uncover an essential role for the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) machinery in the resealing of these nuclear discontinuities.