Today’s cyclodextrin is an essential paper on understanding differences in internalization and cellular location of various polyrotaxanes by Hokkaido University, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Activation of autophagy represents a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of diseases that are caused by the accumulation of defective proteins and the formation of abnormal organelles. Methylated β-cyclodextrins-threaded polyrotaxane (Me-PRX), a supramolecular structured polymer, induces autophagy by interacting with the endoplasmic reticulum. The same level of autophagy induction was achieved at one-twentieth the dosage for the mitochondria-targeted nanocarrier (Me-PRX) compared to the naked Me-PRX. The quantitative evaluation of the intracellular organelle localization of both naked Me-PRX and the MITO-Porter (Me-PRX) are reported here. Mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and lysosomes were selected as target organelles because they would be involved in autophagy induction. In addition, organelle injury and cell viability assays were performed. The results showed that the naked Me-PRX and the MITO-Porter (Me-PRX) were localized in different intracellular organelles, and organelle injury was different, depending on the route of administration, indicating that different organelles contribute to autophagy induction. These findings indicate that the organelle to which the autophagy-inducing molecules are delivered plays an important role in the level of induction of autophagy.
