Selective Autophagy Pathway of Nanoparticles and Nanodrugs: Drug Delivery and Pathophysiological Effects

Research attention has been given to selective autophagy due to its potential application in the pathophysiology of human diseases. The selective autophagy pathway contributes to the target recognition and degradation of intracellular components or foreign pathogens for maintaining cellular homeostasis in multiple organisms. Notably, this process is mediated by autophagy receptors in the recognition of autophagy cargoes through binding to the ubiquitin-binding domain and LC3-interacting region to the formation of autophagosomes. Nanotechnology is an emerging field; related research has focused on the study and manipulation of nanoscale materials that can be applied for numerous applications, especially for the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. Nanoparticle-mediated autophagy activation holds promise for use in autophagy-related disease applications. The selective autophagy of nanoparticles and nanodrugs occurs through binding to ubiquitinated proteins, autophagy receptors, and LC3, the formation of nanoparticulosomes, and their delivery to lysosomes; the process is termed nanoparticulophagy. This review focuses on the mechanisms of nanoparticulophagy, the role of selective autophagy receptors, and potential applications in autophagy-related diseases achieved using these nanoparticles and nanodrugs. Nanoparticulophagy will provide an understanding of related intracellular trafficking mechanisms and degradation pathways for processing nanoparticles and nanodrugs in terms of drug delivery and pathophysiological effects.