Cytokinesis Mechanisms in Animal Cells

Cytokinesis is the terminal phase of cell division during which the parent cell partitions its cytoplasm to yield two genetically identical daughter cells. In animal cells this process is driven by the assembly and constriction of an actomyosin contractile ring at the future cleavage site, coordinated with signals emanating from the central spindle microtubules. Activation of the small GTPase RhoA at the equatorial cortex triggers recruitment of formins and myosin II, while scaffold proteins such as anillin integrate mechanical inputs with biochemical cues to ensure robust furrow ingression. The midbody, a microtubule‐rich organelle at the intercellular bridge, serves as a platform for abscission machinery and quality control. Precise spatial and temporal regulation of these events is essential for tissue development and homeostasis, and defects in cytokinesis are implicated in developmental disorders and oncogenesis. Advances in mechanobiology and high‐resolution imaging have begun to unravel how feedback between cortical tension and spindle signals modulate ring dynamics, emphasising the interplay between cellular mechanics and molecular regulation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have shown that the contractile ring is capable of sensing mechanical cues within the cell cortex to modulate closure dynamics during asymmetric cell division. A key finding reveals that anillin acts as a mechanosensor by linking cortical flows to myosin enrichment, creating a positive feedback loop that directs asymmetric ring constriction in early embryos. This mechanosensitive pathway offers new tools for four‐dimensional analysis of cytokinesis in complex tissues and highlights the integration of tissue mechanics with ring dynamics.

Cytokinesis Mechanisms in Animal Cells publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in cytokinesis mechanisms in animal cells across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Cytokinesis: The process by which a parent cell physically divides its cytoplasm to form two daughter cells.

Contractile ring: A circumferential structure composed of filamentous actin and myosin II that drives ingression of the cleavage furrow.

Midbody: A transient microtubule‐rich structure at the intercellular bridge that organises abscission factors.

RhoA: A small GTPase that regulates actomyosin contractility and is essential for ring assembly and constriction.

RhoGEF (e.g. Ect2): A guanine nucleotide exchange factor that activates RhoA by promoting exchange of GDP for GTP.

Anillin: A scaffold protein that organises actomyosin components and mediates mechanosensitive feedback during ring constriction.

References

1. Contractile ring mechanosensation and its anillin-dependent tuning during early embryogenesis. Nature Communications (2023).
2. NudCL2 is required for cytokinesis by stabilizing RCC2 with Hsp90 at the midbody. Protein & Cell (2024).
3. Plasma Membrane Association but Not Midzone Recruitment of RhoGEF ECT2 Is Essential for Cytokinesis. Cell Reports (2016).