Phosphorylation of myosin II regulatory light chain by ZIP kinase is responsible for cleavage furrow ingression during cell division in mammalian cultured cells

• ZIPK is responsible for phosphorylation of MRLC at the contractile ring.
• The cytokinetic abnormalities in ZIPK depleted cells were rescued by phosphorylation-mimic MRLC expression.
• We revealed that ZIPK regulates cytokinesis through MRLC phosphorylation.

Zipper-interacting protein kinase (ZIPK) is known to regulate several functions such as apoptosis, smooth muscle contraction, and cell migration. While exogenously expressed GFP-ZIPK localizes to the cleavage furrow, role of ZIPK in cytokinesis is obscure. Here, we show that ZIPK is a major MRLC kinase during mitosis. Moreover, ZIPK siRNA-mediated knockdown causes delay of cytokinesis. The delay in cytokinesis of ZIPK-knockdown cells was rescued by the exogenous diphosphorylation-mimicking MRLC mutant. Taken together, these findings suggest that ZIPK plays a role in the progression and completion of cytokinesis through MRLC phosphorylation.