Mitotic and meiotic midbody remnants: Divergent architectures with distinct clinical applications

Midbody remnants (MBRs), once considered inert cytokinetic debris, are now recognized as architecturally specialized, translationally active organelles whose functions reflect the mode of cell division. This review compares MBR biology in symmetric somatic mitosis and asymmetric oocyte meiosis. In somatic cells, MBRs can be retained or secreted as large extracellular vesicles that carry midbody proteins, RNAs, and translation machinery; their enrichment in stem and cancer cells implicates them in cell-state regulation and identifies them as promising, though unvalidated, substrates for liquid-biopsy biomarkers and therapeutic targeting. In oocytes, meiotic midbodies form a distinctive ring-cap architecture that concentrates local translation and restricts maternal products to the egg, thereby supporting developmental competence. Together, these studies establish division mode as a key determinant of midbody architecture, cargo, fate, and translational potential, linking cytokinesis to cancer biology and reproductive medicine.