Title:Ferroptosis and Cancer Immunotherapy
Volume: 23
Issue: 5
Author(s): Jumei Yin, Xingqi Meng, Lixuan Peng, Wei Xie, Xuan Liu, Weiguo He*Suyun Li*
Affiliation:
- Clinical Anatomy and Reproductive Medicine Application Institute, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
- Clinical Anatomy and Reproductive Medicine Application Institute, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
Keywords:
Ferroptosis, iron deposition, immunotherapy, immunogenicity, immune cells, cancer.
Abstract: Traditional treatment strategies for cancer are unsatisfactory. As a nonapoptotic
cell death process and owning to the characteristics of iron-dependent lipid
peroxide accumulation, ferroptosis has become a new target of tumor treatment.
Numerous studies have proved that ferroptosis could enhance the immunogenicity of
cancer and interact with immune cells. Cancer antigens, exposed to cancer cells that
underwent ferroptosis, effectively improve the immunogenicity of the tumor microenvironment
and promote the activation and maturation of immune cells. Meantime,
immune cells release immunostimulatory cytokines including TNF-α and IFN-γ to
downregulate the expression of SLC7A11 and SLC3A2, and reduce the absorption of
cysteine, leading to lipid peroxidation and iron deposition in cancer cells. Consequently,
induction of ferroptosis via iron deposition-based combination strategies could stimulate
and activate natural and adaptive immune responses which release immune-stimulating
factors to induce iron deposition in cancer cells. In this review, we provided a critical
analysis of the correlation between ferroptosis and the immune responses, providing a
novel way to effectively induce ferroptosis in cancer, which may be one of the focuses in
future to improve the development of new therapeutic strategies of cancer.
