An integral part of cell division is the separation of daughter cells via cytokinesis.There is now good evidence that the completion of cytokinesis requires coordinated membrane trafficking to deliver new membrane to the tip of the furrow and to complete the abscission. Here we have examined membrane traffic in cytokinesis and describe several novel observations. First, we show that Rab11-and FIP3-containing recycling endosomes accumulate near the cleavage furrow and are required for successful completion of cytokinesis. Second, we demonstrate that the Rab11-FIP3 protein complex is intimately involved in the delivery of endosomes to the cleavage furrow. Significantly, although FIP3 recruitment to endosomes is Rab11 dependent, we find that the targeting of FIP3 to the midbody is independent of Rab11. Third, we show that the Rab11-FIP3 complex is required for a late stage of cytokinesis, possibly abscission. Finally, we demonstrate that localization of FIP3 is subject to substantial spatial and temporal regulation. These data provide the first detailed analysis of recycling endosomes in cell division and provide a new model for membrane traffic to the furrow. We propose that the dynamic Rab11-FIP3 interaction controls the delivery, targeting, and fusion of recycling endosomes with furrow during late cytokinesis and abscission. INTRODUCTIONAn integral part of cell division is the physical separation of two daughter cells via a process known as cytokinesis (Scholey et al., 2003). At least two distinct processes are required for successful cytokinesis: formation and constriction of an acto-myosin contractile ring and the delivery of new membrane to the progressing cleavage furrow (O'Halloran, 2000;Scholey et al., 2003). Both of these steps are tightly controlled and crucial for cell abscission, the final separation of the two cells. Although the function of the acto-myosin ring in cell division is well understood, we are only beginning to understand the role of membrane transport during cytokinesis. Evidence suggests that insertion of new membrane at the apex of cleavage furrow is crucial for the successful completion of cellularization in Drosophila embryos (Rothwell et al., 1999;Zhang et al., 2000). Similar requirements for membrane transport and fusion were also observed in Xenopus laevis eggs (Byers and Armstrong, 1986;Bieliavsky et al., 1992).The plasma membrane of the cleavage furrow is distinct in its lipid and protein composition from the rest of the plasma membrane (Emoto et al., 1996;Umeda and Emoto, 1999;Emoto and Umeda, 2000). The unique composition of cleavage furrow plasma membrane may underscore its ability to be deformed during ingression, as a cell is pinched in two, as well as possibly generating the signals that regulate progression of cytokinesis. Thus, in addition to the delivery of the membrane to compensate for the expanding plasma membrane surface, membrane traffic during cytokinesis could also mediate the delivery of proteins that control the ingression of the cleavage furrow as well as cell-...

The dual Rab11/Arf binding proteins, family of Rab11-interacting proteins FIP3 and FIP4 function in the delivery of recycling endosomes to the cleavage furrow and are, together with Rab11, essential for completion of abscission, the terminal step of cytokinesis. Here, we report that both FIP3 and FIP4 bind Arf6 in a nucleotide-dependent manner but exhibit differential affinities for Rab11 and Arf6. Both FIP3 and FIP4 can form ternary complexes with Rab11 and Arf6. Arf6 is localised to the furrow and midbody and we show that Arf6-GTP functions to localise FIP3 and FIP4 to midbodies during cytokinesis. Exo70p, a component of the Exocyst complex, also localises to the furrow of dividing cells and interacts with Arf6. We show that depletion of Exo70p leads to cytokinesis failure and an impairment of FIP3 and Rab11 localisation to the furrow and midbody. Moreover, Exo70p co-immunoprecipitates FIP3 and FIP4. Hence, we propose that FIP3 and FIP4 serve to couple Rab11-positive vesicle traffic from recycling endosomes to the cleavage furrow/midbody where they are tethered prior to fusion events via interactions with Arf6 and the Exocyst.

Summary Sorting and recycling of endocytosed proteins are required for proper cellular function and growth. Internalized receptors either follow a fast constitutive recycling pathway, returning to the cell surface directly from the early endosomes, or a slow pathway that involves transport via perinuclear recycling endosomes. Slow recycling pathways are thought to play a key role in directing recycling proteins to specific locations on cell surfaces, such as the leading edges of motile cells. These pathways are regulated by various Rab GTPases, such as Rab4 and Rab11. Here we characterize the role of Rip11/FIP5, a known Rab11-binding protein, in regulating endocytic recycling. We use a combination of electron and fluorescent microscopy with siRNA-based protein knockdown to show that Rip11/FIP5 is present at the peripheral endosomes, where it regulates the sorting of internalized receptors to a slow recycling pathway. We also identify kinesin II as a Rip11/FIP5-binding protein and show that it is required for directing endocytosed proteins into the same recycling pathway. Thus, we propose that the Rip11/FIP5-kinesin-II complex has a key role in the routing of internalized receptors through the perinuclear recycling endosomes.

The Rab11 subfamily of GTPases plays an important role in vesicle trafficking from endosomes to the plasma membrane. At least six Rab11 effectors (family of Rab11-interacting proteins (FIPs)) have been shown to interact with Rab11 and are hypothesized to regulate various membrane trafficking pathways such as transferrin recycling, cytokinesis, and epidermal growth factor trafficking. In this study, we characterized interactions of FIPs with the Rab11 GTPase using isothermal titration calorimetric studies and mutational analysis. Our data suggest that FIPs cannot differentiate between GTPbound Rab11a and Rab11b in vitro (50 -100 nM affinity) and in vivo. We also show that, although FIPs interact with the GDP-bound form of Rab11 in vitro, the binding affinity (>1000 nM) is not sufficient for FIP and GDPbound Rab11 interactions to occur in vivo. Mutational analysis revealed that both the conserved hydrophobic patch and Tyr 628 are important for the GTP-dependent binding of Rab11 to FIPs. The entropy and enthalpy analyses suggest that binding to Rab11a/b may induce conformational changes in FIPs.