Chun Sang Hun, Yuk Ji Soo, Um Soong Ho
School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 440-746, South Korea.
SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 440-746, South Korea.
Nano Converg. 2018 Nov 30;5(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s40580-018-0166-x.
Within a cell there are several mechanisms to regulate gene expression during cellular metabolism, growth, and differentiation. If these do not work properly, the cells will die or develop abnormally and, in some cases, even develop into tumors. Thus, a variety of exogenous and endogenous approaches have been developed that act on essential stages of transcription and translation by affecting the regulation of gene expression in an intended manner. To date, some anticancer strategies have focused on targeting abnormally overexpressed genes termed oncogenes, which have lost the ability to tune gene expression. With the rapid advent of nanotechnology, a few synthetic nanomaterials are being used as gene regulation systems. In many cases, these materials have been employed as nanocarriers to deliver key molecules such as silencing RNAs or antisense oligonucleotides into target cells, but some nanomaterials may be able to effectively modulate gene expression due to their characteristic properties, which include tunable physicochemical properties due to their malleable size and shape. This technology has improved the performance of existing approaches for regulating gene expression and led to the development of new types of advanced regulatory systems. In this short review, we will present some nanomaterials currently used in novel gene regulation systems, focusing on their basic features and practical applications. Based on these findings, it is further envisioned that next-generation gene expression regulation systems involving such nanomaterials will be developed.
在细胞内，存在多种机制可在细胞代谢、生长和分化过程中调节基因表达。如果这些机制不能正常运作，细胞将会死亡或异常发育，在某些情况下甚至会发展成肿瘤。因此，人们开发了多种外源性和内源性方法，通过以预期方式影响基因表达调控，作用于转录和翻译的关键阶段。迄今为止，一些抗癌策略聚焦于靶向被称为癌基因的异常过表达基因，这些基因已丧失调节基因表达的能力。随着纳米技术的迅速发展，一些合成纳米材料正被用作基因调控系统。在许多情况下，这些材料被用作纳米载体，将诸如沉默RNA或反义寡核苷酸等关键分子递送至靶细胞，但一些纳米材料可能因其特性而能够有效调节基因表达，这些特性包括由于其可塑的尺寸和形状而具有的可调物理化学性质。这项技术提高了现有基因表达调控方法的性能，并促使新型先进调控系统的开发。在这篇简短的综述中，我们将介绍一些目前用于新型基因调控系统的纳米材料，重点关注它们的基本特征和实际应用。基于这些发现，进一步设想将开发涉及此类纳米材料的下一代基因表达调控系统。
