Fig. 2: IR-induced ferroptosis is regulated by GSTM3.

a Heatmap of differentially expressed genes with or without 6 Gy IR exposure in 5-8F and CNE2 cell lines. b qRT-PCR analysis of glutathione or lipid metabolism-associated genes after 6 Gy IR exposure. c Western blot analysis of GSTM3 protein expression in NPC cell lines at 48 h after 6 Gy IR. d, e Cell viability assays and clonogenic assays in NPC cells that were transiently transfected with GSTM3 or the empty vector plasmids followed by exposure to 6 Gy IR. f The cell viability assays detected the effects of ferrostatin-1, 3-methyladenine, necrostatin-1, and Z-VAD-FMK in NPC cells with GSTM3 overexpression upon IR. g, h Relative PTGS2 mRNA expression (g) and lipid peroxidation levels (h) in empty vector- and GSTM3-overexpressing NPC cells following 6 Gy IR treatment. i, j Cell viability assays and clonogenic assays in CNE2-R cells transiently transfected with GSTM3 or the empty vector plasmids followed by exposure to 6 Gy IR. k, l PTGS2 mRNA expression (k) and lipid peroxidation (l) in GSTM3-overexpressing or empty vector-transfected CNE2-R cells following 6 Gy IR. m TEM images of morphological changes in the mitochondria of CNE2-R cells. Scale bars: 500 nm. Data are presented as mean ± SEM, n = 3 independent repeats. p values were calculated using the two-tailed Student’s t test. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.