Mid2p in fission yeast. These anillins that are not sequestered during interphase suggest that anillins may also regulate cytoskeletal dynamics outside the contractile ring during cytokinesis. Role in Diseases Anillin is critical for cell division and therefore development and homeostasis in metazoans. In recent years, the expression levels of anillin have been shown to correlate to the metastatic potential of human tumours. In colorectal cancer, expression levels of anillin are higher in tumours and when anillin was over-expressed in HT29 cells, a classical colorectal cancer cell line, the cells showed faster replication kinetics due to the lengthening of G2/M phase. Increasing the expression of anillin also led to further invasiveness and migration of numerous colorectal cancer cell lines. The hypothesis from such observations is that anillin promotes EMT and cell migration through cytoskeletal remodeling, leading to enhanced proliferation, invasion, and mobility of tumour cells. References External links Further reading Genes Human proteins