To investigate whether the CTAB-GNRs could induce autophagy in human non-malignant transformed cells (HEK293T, L02, HFF) or cancer cells (HCT116, BEL7402, PC3), we first examined the protein level of LC3-II, a cleaved form of LC3 that acts as an established molecular indicator of autophagy. The gene discussed is MAP1LC3A; the disease is cancer.