Iron Metabolism Rewiring and Ferroptosis to Trigger Drug Resistance in Human Cancers
A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular and Translational Medicine".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2025) | Viewed by 2757
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Drug resistance continues to be the most significant challenge in cancer today. Currently, the chemotherapeutic approach for many tumor types relies on platinum-containing agents that kill cancer cells by triggering apoptosis. However, cancer cells can be apoptosis-defective, thus leading to chemoresistance. Developing novel therapeutic strategies represents a major goal of cancer research.
Cancer cells show the so-called “iron-addicted” phenotype, characterized by a marked iron uptake and a weak iron efflux, which may represent a metabolic determinant of ferroptosis sensitivity. Ferroptosis is a type of programmed cell death driven by the iron-dependent accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to detrimental levels. Many signaling pathways are involved in this process, including the increase in intracellular iron, which increases the levels of ROS and leads to severe membrane lipid peroxidation; the repression of the cystine-glutamate antiporter (system Xc-); the inactivation of the antioxidant glutathione-dependent peroxidase 4 (GPX4); and the degradation of ferritin meditated by NCOA4 via ferritinophagy. Ferroptosis induction has shown promising antitumor effects in cancer cells, but the existence of undefined genetic and metabolic determinants of susceptibility has so far limited the application of ferroptosis inducers in vivo. In summary, our aim is to provide readers with novel insights into ferroptosis in cancer. This Special Issue will cover the following topics:
- Ferroptosis as an alternative strategy to target apoptosis-resistant cancer cells;
- Characterization of genetic and metabolic determinants of susceptibility in ferroptosis-resistant cancer cells;
- Identification of new hallmarks of ferroptosis in cancer;
- Application of novel iron-based compounds as an alternative therapeutic approach to induce ferroptosis in cancer.
Dr. Anna Martina Battaglia
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- ferroptosis
- iron metabolism
- reactive oxygen species
- resistance mechanisms
- iron compound
- ferroptosis inducer
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
