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Updated: Jun 6, 2025

In Vitro Polymerization of F-actin on Early Endosomes
Published on: August 28, 2017
Precise Regulations at the Subcellular Level through Intracellular Polymerization, Assembly, and Transformation
Le He1,2, Fanying Meng3, Ran Chen3
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
Abstract:
A living cell is an intricate machine that creates subregions to operate cell functions effectively. Subcellular dysfunction has been identified as a potential druggable target for successful drug design and therapy. The treatments based on intracellular polymerization, self-assembly, or transformation offer various advantages, including enhanced blood circulation of monomers, long-term drug delivery pharmacokinetics, low drug resistance, and the ability to target deep tissues and organelles. In this review, we discuss the latest developments of intracellular synthesis applied to precisely control cellular functions. First, we discuss the design and applications of endogenous and exogenous stimuli-triggered intracellular polymerization, self-assembly, and dynamic morphology transformation of biomolecules at the subcellular level. Second, we highlight the benefits of these strategies applied in cancer diagnosis and treatment and modulating cellular states or cell metabolism of living systems. Finally, we conclude the recent progress in this field, discuss future perspectives, analyze the challenges of the intracellular functional reactions for regulation, and find future opportunities.
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