Fig. 6
From: Systematic and mechanistic analysis of AuNP-induced nanotoxicity for risk assessment of nanomedicine
Potential mechanism of AuNP-induced toxicity. (i) Necrosis: direct physical damage to the cellular membrane, (ii) apoptosis: oxidative stress-triggered intrinsic mitochondrial-mediated pathway, (iii) inhibition of cell motility: interference of actin filament formation and stimulation of lamin A/C overexpression inducing increased nuclear stiffness, (iv) ROS generation: indirectly induced by AuNPs mainly through lysosomal membrane permeabilization, mitochondrial depolarization, and interaction with redox-active enzymes, (v) genotoxicity: primary damage induced by AuNPs including direct interaction with DNA leading to inhibition of DNA replication and indirect DNA cleavage and mutation via oxidative stress, and (vi) inflammation: induction of inflammatory response due to direct and indirect inflammasome activation by AuNPs