The mechanistic basis for spreading ferroptosis to neighboring cells remains unclear. Galectin-13, a secreted galectin, is now identified as a pivotal mediator of ferroptosis propagation and a determinant of cancer cell ferroptosis sensitivity.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Riegman, M. et al. Nat. Cell Biol. 22, 1042–1048 (2020).
Linkermann, A. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 16836–16841 (2014).
Zhang, Q. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. 20, 835–846 (2024).
Zhang, H.-L. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01888-2 (2025).
Vasta, G. R. et al. Pathog. Dis. 75, ftx046 (2017).
Liu, F.-T. & Stowell, S. R. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 23, 479–494 (2023).
Viguier, M. et al. Tissue Barriers 2, e29103 (2014).
Liu, T., Jiang, L., Tavana, O. & Gu, W. Cancer Res. 79, 1913–1924 (2019).
Ishimoto, T. et al. Cancer Cell 19, 387–400 (2011).
Tazhitdinova, R. & Timoshenko, A. V. Cells 9, 1792 (2020).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, T., Gao, J. & Chen, Q. Sweetening ferroptosis spread. Nat Chem Biol 21, 1476–1477 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01889-1
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01889-1
This article is cited by
-
Bystander effects in photodynamic therapy-treated tumors involve spatiotemporally extended ferroptosis
Journal of Molecular Medicine (2026)
