Advances in Ferroptosis-Inducing Agents by Targeted Delivery System in Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Currently, cancer remains one of the most significant threats to human health. Treatment of most cancers remains challenging, despite the implementation of diverse therapies in clinical practice. In recent years, research on the mechanism of ferroptosis has presented novel perspectives for cancer treatment. Ferroptosis is a regulated cell death process caused by lipid peroxidation of membrane unsaturated fatty acids catalyzed by iron ions. The rapid development of bio-nanotechnology has generated considerable interest in exploiting iron-induced cell death as a new therapeutic target against cancer. This article provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements at the intersection of iron-induced cell death and bionanotechnology. In this respect, the mechanism of iron-induced cell death and its relation to cancer are summarized. Furthermore, the feasibility of a nano-drug delivery system based on iron-induced cell death for cancer treatment is introduced and analyzed. Secondly, strategies for inducing iron-induced cell death using nanodrug delivery technology are discussed, including promoting Fenton reactions, inhibiting glutathione peroxidase 4, reducing low glutathione levels, and inhibiting system Xc⁻. Additionally, the article explores the potential of combined treatment strategies involving iron-induced cell death and bionanotechnology. Finally, the application prospects and challenges of iron-induced nanoagents for cancer treatment are discussed.

Keywords:

• cancers
• ferroptosis
• nano-drug delivery system
• target

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by “Changsha Anti-Infective Drugs Engineering Technology Research Center” [No. kq1801120], Changsha Municipal Natural Science Foundation [No. kq2208463, No. kq2208464]and the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department Foundation, China [No. 2016SK4008, No. 2020SK52901].

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.