P2X7 is involved in mediating the biological process of carbon nanotube cell excrete.

Carbon nanotubes have a unique hollow structure and nanotube diameter and can be used as drug carriers.
the use of peptides, proteins, nucleic acids and pharmaceutical molecular modification of carbon nanotubes as a carrier, can carry biologically active molecules into the cell without toxicity.
the application potential of carbon nanotubes in the field of environment and nanomedicine.
interaction between carbon nanotubes and cells begins with physical contact with the cells and is then ingested, excreted or degraded by the cells, which are critical to the subsequent toxic/biological effects of carbon nanotubes.
there is little research on the cellular excrecy mechanism of carbon nanotubes.
, Guo Lianghong Research Group of the National Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology of the Ecological Environment Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences made important progress in the biological processes and effects of carbon nanotube cell excrete.
the study was published in the journal Small as a back cover article for the current issue.
the team exposed carbon nanotubes to macrophages, and by detecting the release of extracellular ATP, it was discovered that a special radon-like subject, P2X7, was involved in the excretation process of carbon nanotubes.
study also found that excessive extracellular ATP binding to the P2X7 subject can briefly activate the subject and induce intracellular calcium ion flow, which in turn activates the MAPK signaling path, and that the accumulation of carbon nanotubes in lysosomes causes lysosome alkalinization, causing carbon nanotubes to drain cells along the re-discharged cytosteline rails.
this study reveals for the first time the molecular start-up events of extracellular carbon nanotubes and the subsequent cellular biological effects, which will provide guiding value for the future biological application rate and toxicity control of carbon nanotubes.
On the basis of the extracellular mechanism, the research team further found that environmental heavy metal ions (e.g. Ni2 plus) inhibit the activity of P2X7 subjects, thereby hindering the normal outer discharge of carbon nanotubes, resulting in excessive accumulation of carbon nanotubes in cells, resulting in greater toxicity.
this mechanism is a new kind of combined toxicity mechanism, which provides a new reference for the safety evaluation of carbon nanotubes and other pollutants in the environment.
, carbon nanotubes, as drug carriers, have mainly studied the cell penetration properties and cytotoxicity of carbon nanotubes.
with the increasing research on carbon nanotubes in the field of drug carriers, the interrelations and dimensional effects of carbon nanotube modification and cell penetration will be deeply studied.
the preparation of modified carbon nanotubes with good solubility and low toxicity as drug carriers will be the main direction of future research.
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