New hope for halting cell death caused by disease

Scientists have discovered mechanisms that control a new form of premature cell death in living tissue - called ferroptosis - and a mechanism to reverse it. Tests have since revealed that this mechanism prevents tissue damage in human kidney cells, acute kidney failure and in liver damage, opening up the possibility for new pharmacological treatments to a number of diseases. Up until now, ferroptosis was a form of cell death identified only in cancer cells. The findings, published today , show that this kind of cell death can also be triggered in healthy cells by removing the protein Gpx4, responsible for regulating the cell death process. To counter this, researchers from Cardiff and Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (HMGU) collaborated with researchers in Sweden and the USA to understand how to control the process. Through the use of lipidomics and extensive molecular screening, the team uncovered a small inhibitor called Liproxstatin-1, which proved capable of suppressing ferroptosis. Scientists were then able to use this inhibitor to prevent cell death in living organisms.