The Application of Nanomaterials in Cell Autophagy

Abstract

Autophagy is defined as separation and degradation of cytoplasmic components through autophagosomes, which plays an essential part in physiological and pathological events. Hence it is also essential for cellular homeostasis. Autophagy disorder may bring about the failure of stem cells to maintain the fundamental transformation and metabolism of cell components. However, for cancer cells, the disorder of autophagy is a feasible antitumor idea. Nanoparticles, referring to particles of the size range 1-100 nanometers, are appearing as a category of autophagy regulators. These nanoparticles may revolutionize and broaden the therapeutic strategies of many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, tumors, muscle disease, and so on. Researches of autophagy-induced nanomaterials mainly focus on silver particles, gold particles, silicon particles, and rare earth oxides. But in recent years, more and more materials have been found to regulate autophagy, such as nano-nucleic acid materials, nanofiber scaffolds, quantum dots, and so on. The review highlights that various kinds of nanoparticles have the power to regulate autophagy intensity in stem cells of interest and further control biological behaviors, which may become a reliable treatment choice for disease therapy.