Fig. 1: The mechanisms of ferroptosis.
From: Ferroptosis induced by environmental pollutants and its health implications
Dietary sources of iron, as well as heme iron, are absorbed through the small intestine and transported into the circulation where they bind to transferrin (Tf) and are transported to the organs of the body. Iron is mainly stored in ferritin after entering target cells, which can be released when needed through nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4)-regulated ferritinophagy. The Fenton reaction of divalent iron ions with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) leads to lipid peroxidation, which in turn induces ferroptosis. There are also many important defense systems that prevent cells from undergoing ferroptosis, including System Xc− (xCT)- glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4)-glutathione (GSH), ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1)-CoQ, FSP1-VitK, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH)-CoQ, which independently or synergistically inhibits the onset of ferroptosis. This figure was created using BioRender (https://biorender.com/).
