Protein-Mimicking Nanoparticles for a Cellular Regulation of Homeostasis

The distinct physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) offer great opportunities to develop new strategies for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Whereas NPs often serve as inert nanocarriers, their inherent "biological" activities have recently been extensively unveiled and explored. These protein-mimicking NPs (dubbed protmins) have been reported to modulate a cellular homeostasis without displaying a general toxicity, which may act as potential nanomedicines to provide a monotherapy or combination therapy in a disease treatment. In the meanwhile, the unexpected behaviors of protmins in complex biological systems also raise new concerns on the biosafety issue. Herein, we summarize several categories of the protmin-based regulation of cellular homeostasis and discuss their broad effects on cell functions and behaviors.