Iron Metabolism and Ferroptosis in Diabetic Kidney Disease

ABSTRACT Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a major diabetic microvascular complication that still lacks effective therapeutic drugs. Ferroptosis is a recently identified form of programmed cell death that is triggered by iron overload. It is characterized by unrestricted lipid peroxidation and subsequent membrane damage and is found in various diseases. Accumulating evidence has highlighted the crucial roles of iron overload and ferroptosis in DKD. Here, we review iron metabolism and the biology of ferroptosis. The role of aberrant ferroptosis in inducing diverse renal intrinsic cell death, oxidative stress, and renal fibrosis in DKD is summarized, and we elaborate on critical regulatory factors related to ferroptosis in DKD. Finally, we focused on the significance of ferroptosis in the treatment of DKD and highlight recent data regarding the novel activities of some drugs as ferroptosis inhibitors in DKD, aiming to provide new research targets and treatment strategies on DKD.