Functional role of ferroptosis on cancers, activation and deactivation by various therapeutic candidates-an update

Ferroptosis is recently identified form of regulated cell death which differs from previously identified cell death in a way that it is driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxide accumulation. Morphologically, cell volume shrinkage and increased mitochondrial membrane density are main features which characterize this form of cell death. Molecular mechanism of ferroptosis induction involved suppression of the phospholipid glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and further intracellular accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS), a process in which iron is involved; either via inhibition of system Xc- (cystine/glutamate antiporter) or direct inhibition of GPX4. Several other pathways like RAS/MAPK and NRF2 are found to be involved in ferroptosis regulation. However, the precise mechanism of ferroptosis induction is not revealed till date. Like other regulated cell deaths, ferroptosis plays important role in tumor suppression and progression as revealed by several scientific reports. This review summarizes basic information about discovery of this novel cell death mechanism including molecular mechanism of its induction and further explains the roles of ferroptosis in human cancers.