Abstract
Cytokinesis mediates the final separation of a mother cell into two daughter cells. Septins are recruited to the cleavage furrow at an early stage. During cytokinetic progression the septin cytoskeleton is constantly rearranged, ultimately leading to a concentration of septins within the intercellular bridge (ICB), and to the formation of two rings adjacent to the midbody that aid ESCRT-dependent abscission. The molecular mechanisms underlying this behavior are poorly understood. Based on observations that septins can associate with actin, microtubules and associated motors, we review here established roles of septins in mammalian cytokinesis, and discuss, how septins may support cytokinetic progression by exerting their functions at particular sites. Finally, we discuss how this might be assisted by phosphoinositide-metabolizing enzymes.
Highlights
Cytokinesis starts when the centralspindlin complex activates Rho A at the equatorial plane of the cell cortex to initiate the formation of the contractile machinery (Glotzer, 2009; Zhang and Glotzer, 2015) (Figure 1A)
We summarize our current knowledge of septin behavior and functions at different stages of cytokinesis, and discuss mechanisms underlying their redistribution during cytokinetic progression
Similar observations were made in HeLa cells expressing an anillin chimera, in which the C-terminal PI(4,5)P2- and septin-binding pleckstrin homology (PH) domain is replaced by a PH domain that retains affinity for (PI4,5)P2, but cannot associate with septins (Renshaw et al, 2014)
Summary
Cytokinesis mediates the final separation of a mother cell into two daughter cells. Septins are recruited to the cleavage furrow at an early stage. During cytokinetic progression the septin cytoskeleton is constantly rearranged, leading to a concentration of septins within the intercellular bridge (ICB), and to the formation of two rings adjacent to the midbody that aid ESCRT-dependent abscission. Based on observations that septins can associate with actin, microtubules and associated motors, we review here established roles of septins in mammalian cytokinesis, and discuss, how septins may support cytokinetic progression by exerting their functions at particular sites. We discuss how this might be assisted by phosphoinositide-metabolizing enzymes. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Signaling, a section of the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental.
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