International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Programmed Cell-Death by Ferroptosis: Antioxidants as Mitigators Naroa Kajarabille 1 and Gladys O. Latunde-Dada 2,* 1 Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 01006 Vitoria, Spain;
[email protected] 2 King’s College London, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH, UK * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 9 September 2019; Accepted: 2 October 2019; Published: 8 October 2019 Abstract: Iron, the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, is vital in living organisms because of its diverse ligand-binding and electron-transfer properties. This ability of iron in the redox cycle as a ferrous ion enables it to react with H2O2, in the Fenton reaction, to produce a hydroxyl radical ( OH)—one of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause deleterious oxidative damage • to DNA, proteins, and membrane lipids. Ferroptosis is a non-apoptotic regulated cell death that is dependent on iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and is characterized by lipid peroxidation. It is triggered when the endogenous antioxidant status of the cell is compromised, leading to lipid ROS accumulation that is toxic and damaging to the membrane structure. Consequently, oxidative stress and the antioxidant levels of the cells are important modulators of lipid peroxidation that induce this novel form of cell death. Remedies capable of averting iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, therefore, are lipophilic antioxidants, including vitamin E, ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), liproxstatin-1 (Lip-1) and possibly potent bioactive polyphenols.