Unconventional roles of chromatin remodelers and long non-coding RNAs in cell division

The aim of this review article is to focus on the unconventional roles of epigenetic players (chromatin remodelers and long non-coding RNAs) in cell division, beyond their well-characterized functions in chromatin regulation during cell differentiation and development. In the last two  decades, diverse experimental evidence has shown that subunits of SRCAP and p400/TIP60 chromatin remodeling complexes in humans relocate from interphase nuclei to centrosomes, spindle or midbody, with their depletion yielding an array of aberrant outcomes of mitosis and cytokinesis. Remarkably, this behavior is shared by orthologous subunits of the Drosophila melanogaster DOM/TIP60 complex, despite fruit flies and humans diverged over 700 million years ago. In short, the available data support the view that subunits of these complexes are a new class of moonlighting proteins, in that they lead a "double life": during the interphase, they function in chromatin regulation within the nucleus, but as the cell progresses through mitosis, they interact with established mitotic factors, thus becoming integral components of the cell division apparatus.  By doing so, they contribute to ensuring the correct distribution of chromosomes in the two daughter cells and, when dysfunctional, can cause genomic instability, a condition that can trigger tumorigenesis and developmental diseases. Research over the past few years has unveiled a major contribution of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the epigenetics regulation of gene expression which also impacts on cell division control. Here, we focus on possible structural roles of lncRNAs in the execution of cytokinesis: in particular, we suggest that specific classes of lncRNAs relocate to the midbody to form an architectural scaffold ensuring its proper assembly and function during abscission. Drawing attention to experimental evidence for non-canonical extranuclear roles of chromatin factors and lncRNAs has direct implications on important and novel aspects concerning both the epigenetic regulation and the evolutionary dynamics of cell division with a significant impact on differentiation, development, and diseases.