Developmental regulation of cytokinetic abscission in animal stem cells

Recent studies have revealed that cytokinetic abscission is developmentally regulated in a wide range of stem cell systems. Rather than a constitutive endpoint of cell division, abscission can be delayed, accelerated, or arrested altogether depending on developmental context. In this review, we highlight recent advances from Drosophila and mammalian models showing how stem cells modulate their link with daughter cells to regulate cell fate decisions and tissue development. Work in Drosophila germline and neural stem cells has uncovered how conserved regulators of cytokinesis, including endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) proteins, mitotic kinases, and ubiquitin-dependent pathways, control intercellular bridge stability, midbody dynamics, and cell fate specification. In parallel, studies in mammalian embryonic and neural stem cells have linked delayed abscission to the maintenance of pluripotency, symmetric fate outcomes, and the regulation of differentiation. Emerging evidence also suggests that persistent intercellular bridges and postabscission midbody remnants can contribute to developmental signalling and stem cell behaviour. Together, these findings support a model in which stem cells actively regulate abscission to coordinate cell-cycle progression, fate transitions, and tissue organization.