Over recent years, researchers have uncovered a new form of programmed cell death other than apoptosis and necroptosis, which is called ferroptosis. This type of cell death is due to accumulated iron in the cells. Similar to oxytosis, the pathway is triggered in response to glutathione (GSH) depletion, which allows the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). It results in uncontrolled lipid peroxidation followed by regulated cell death. Lipid peroxidation can be decreased by iron chelators and lipohilic antioxidants. Ferroptosis has been linked to cancer cell death, neurodegenerative disease, neurotoxicity, acute renal failure and tissue damage.
With the development of drugs that induce this pathway, it could be possible to activate ferroptosis in cancer cells for treatment purposes. Inducers of this pathway can separated into two groups; the inhibitors of cysteine import, resulting in depletion of GSH, and covalent inhibitors of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). These two groups of compounds both result in reduced activity of GPX4, leading to increased levels of ROS followed by cell death.
Li et al. have recently published a review on the past, present and future of ferroptosis.
Read more about this pathway in their article.
Several of our suppliers offer tools to investigate this pathway further:
