Working model reveals how protein anillin controls asymmetry during embryonic cell division

Symmetry is a fundamental characteristic of most multi-cell animals. However, the cell division of embryonic cells is asymmetric. A team led by Prof. Dr. Esther Zanin at the Department of Biology at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has developed a working model that explains the molecular mechanism with which the protein anillin controls asymmetry during the constriction of the parent cell. Since large amounts of anillin are found in tumor cells, the suspected mechanism could open the door to new types of cancer treatments.