Modulation of Cancer Cell Autophagic Responses by Graphene-Based Nanomaterials: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications

Graphene-based nanomaterials (GNM) are plausible candidates for cancer therapeutics and drug delivery systems. Pure graphene and graphene oxide nanoparticles, as well as graphene quantum dots and graphene nanofibers, were all able to trigger autophagy in cancer cells through both transcriptional and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancers 2021-08, Vol.13 (16), p.4145
Main Authors: Ristic, Biljana, Harhaji-Trajkovic, Ljubica, Bosnjak, Mihajlo, Dakic, Ivana, Mijatovic, Srdjan, Trajkovic, Vladimir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AMP-activated protein kinase
Apoptosis
Autophagy
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Carbon
Cell death
Cell survival
Cytotoxicity
Drug delivery
Endoplasmic reticulum
Graphene
Graphite
Immune response
Immunomodulation
Kinases
Lysosomes
MAP kinase
Metabolism
Microscopy
Molecular modelling
Nanomaterials
Nanoparticles
Nanotechnology
Organelles
Phagocytosis
Post-transcription
Proteins
Quantum dots
Rapamycin
Review
Toll-like receptors
TOR protein
Toxicity
Transcription factors
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Summary:Graphene-based nanomaterials (GNM) are plausible candidates for cancer therapeutics and drug delivery systems. Pure graphene and graphene oxide nanoparticles, as well as graphene quantum dots and graphene nanofibers, were all able to trigger autophagy in cancer cells through both transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms involving oxidative/endoplasmic reticulum stress, AMP-activated protein kinase, mechanistic target of rapamycin, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and Toll-like receptor signaling. This was often coupled with lysosomal dysfunction and subsequent blockade of autophagic flux, which additionally increased the accumulation of autophagy mediators that participated in apoptotic, necrotic, or necroptotic death of cancer cells and influenced the immune response against the tumor. In this review, we analyze molecular mechanisms and structure–activity relationships of GNM-mediated autophagy modulation, its consequences for cancer cell survival/death and anti-tumor immune response, and the possible implications for the use of GNM in cancer therapy.
ISSN:2072-6694
2072-6694
DOI:10.3390/cancers13164145