Functional reciprocity of proteins involved in mitosis and endocytosis

Accumulating evidence has suggested that mitosis and endocytosis share many functional units. In this review, we summarize important proteins or protein complexes that participate in both processes, compare their mechanism of action, and discuss the rationale behind this multifunctionality. Mitosis and endocytosis are two fundamental cellular processes essential for maintaining a eukaryotic life. Mitosis partitions duplicated chromatin enveloped in the nuclear membrane into two new cells, whereas endocytosis takes in extracellular substances through membrane invagination. These two processes are spatiotemporally separated and seemingly unrelated. However, recent studies have uncovered that endocytic proteins have moonlighting functions in mitosis, and mitotic complexes manifest additional roles in endocytosis. In this review, we summarize important proteins or protein complexes that participate in both processes, compare their mechanism of action, and discuss the rationale behind this multifunctionality. We also speculate on the possible origin of the functional reciprocity from an evolutionary perspective.