Neutrophils with a license to kill: permeabilized, not stirred.

The neutrophil responds to invading microorganisms in part by assembling the NADPH oxidase complex and producing superoxide radicals. Relatively little is known about the intracellular assembly or activation of the oxidase, but Brown et al. in the January issue of Molecular Cell provide a useful strategy involving permeabilized neutrophils to tackle this question.