Breakdown of an Ironclad Defense System: The Critical Role of NRF2 in Mediating Ferroptosis

• Published in: Cell chemical biology Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 436 - 447
• Main Authors: Anandhan, Annadurai, Dodson, Matthew, Schmidlin, Cody J., Liu, Pengfei, Zhang, Donna D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 16.04.2020
• Subjects: cancer; cardiovascular disease; Cation Transport Proteins - metabolism; cell death; diabetes; ferritinophagy; Ferroptosis; Humans; iron; Iron - metabolism; Lipid Peroxidation; Lipid Peroxides - metabolism; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; neurodegeneration; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 - metabolism; NRF2; Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism; Receptors, Transferrin - metabolism; cardiovascular disease; ferroptosis; cell death; NRF2; neurodegeneration; iron; ferritinophagy; cancer; lipid peroxidation; diabetes
• ISSN: 2451-9456; 2451-9448; 2451-9456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.03.011

Ferroptosis is a non-apoptotic mode of regulated cell death that is iron and lipid peroxidation dependent. As new mechanistic insight into ferroptotic effectors and how they are regulated in different disease contexts is uncovered, our understanding of the physiological and pathological relevance of this mode of cell death continues to grow. Along these lines, a host of pharmacological modulators of this pathway have been identified, targeting proteins involved in iron homeostasis; the generation and reduction of lipid peroxides; or cystine import and glutathione metabolism. Also, of note, many components of the ferroptosis cascade are target genes of the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), indicating its critical role in mediating the ferroptotic response. In this review, we discuss the in vitro, in vivo, and clinical evidence of ferroptosis in disease, including a brief discussion of targeting upstream mediators of this cascade, including NRF2, to treat ferroptosis-driven diseases. [Display omitted] In this review, Anandhan and Dodson et al. summarize key components of the ferroptosis cascade, including recent experimental evidence indicating a role for this novel mode of cell death in disease. The concept of targeting upstream mediators of ferroptosis, including the NRF2 pathway, to treat disease is also discussed.