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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cell Death and Survival
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1452824
This article is part of the Research Topic Ferroptosis: Intersections, Implications, and Innovations in Programmed Cell Death View all 6 articles

Mitochondrial lipid peroxidation is necessary but not sufficient for induction of ferroptosis

Provisionally accepted
He Huan He Huan 1Konstantin G. Lyamzaev Konstantin G. Lyamzaev 1,2*Alisa A. Panteleeva Alisa A. Panteleeva 1Boris V. Chernyak Boris V. Chernyak 1*
  • 1 Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
  • 2 Russian Gerontology Clinical Research Center (RGCRC), Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Ferroptosis, a form of regulated cell death mediated by lipid peroxidation (LPO), has become the subject of intense research due to its potential therapeutic applications in cancer chemotherapy as well as its pathophysiological role in ischemic organ injury. The role of mitochondrial lipid peroxidation (LPO) in ferroptosis remains poorly understood. We show that supplementation of exogenous iron in the form of ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) in combination with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, an inhibitor of glutathione biosynthesis) induces mitochondrial lipid peroxidation that precedes ferroptosis in normal human fibroblasts. The mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant SkQ1 and the redox mediator methylene blue, which inhibits the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, prevent both mitochondrial lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis, but do not affect the cytosolic ROS accumulation. These data indicate that mitochondrial lipid peroxidation is required for ferroptosis induced by exogenous iron. FAC in the absence of BSO stimulates mitochondrial peroxidation without reducing cell viability. Glutathione depletion by BSO does not affect FAC-induced mitochondrial LPO but strongly stimulates the accumulation of ROS in the cytosol. These data allow us to conclude that mitochondrial LPO is not sufficient for ferroptosis and that cytosolic ROS mediates additional oxidative events that stimulate ferroptosis in conjunction with mitochondrial LPO.

    Keywords: ferroptosis, Ferric ammonium citrate (FAC), buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), Mitochondrial lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial-targeted antioxidants

    Received: 21 Jun 2024; Accepted: 03 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Huan, Lyamzaev, Panteleeva and Chernyak. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Konstantin G. Lyamzaev, Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
    Boris V. Chernyak, Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia

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