BACH1 promotes the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by inducing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis

Thermosensitive gel-nano system against esophageal cancer via restoring p53 activity and boosting T-cell immunity

In esophageal cancer (EC), clinical specimen testing has uncovered a significant increase in BTB and CNC homolog 1 (BACH1) expression and a shift towards an immunosuppressive environment, alongside a notable decrease in p53 protein expression. Therefore, therapeutic strategies focusing on BACH1 inhibition and p53 upregulation appear promising. Traditional oral treatments for EC lack precision and efficacy. Here, we propose a novel approach employing tumor-targeted nanoparticles (NPs) for drug delivery. However, the formation of a drug reservoir at the esophageal site, crucial for the sustained release of therapeutics, presents significant challenges in nano-delivery systems for EC treatment. To address this, we developed a thermosensitive hydrogel composed of F127 and tannic acid, serving as a vehicle for NP loading. These NPs, synthesized through the emulsion/volatization methods of mPEG-PLGA-PLL-cRGD, facilitate in situ drug delivery. Upon contacting esophageal tissue, the hydrogel transitions to a gel, adhering to the lining and enabling sustained release of encapsulated therapeutics. The formulation encompasses NPs laden with small interfering RNA targeting BACH1 (siBACH1) and the p53 activator PRIMA-1, creating a cohesive gel-nano system. Preliminary biological assessments demonstrate that this injectable, thermosensitive gel-nano system adheres effectively to esophageal tissue and targets EC cells. For better modeling clinical outcomes, a patient-derived organoid xenograft (PDOX) model was innovated, involving transplantation of EC-derived organoids into humanized mice, reconstructed with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Post-treatment analysis showed substantial EC growth inhibition (89.51% tumor inhibition rate), significant BACH1 level reduction, restored anti-tumor immune responses, and pronounced tumor apoptosis. In summary, our study introduces a thermosensitive gel-nano system for EC treatment via restoring p53 activity and boosting T-cell immunity, with potential for clinical application.

Type I Diabetes Mellitus Suppresses Experimental Skin Carcinogenesis

This study explores the previously uncharted territory of the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on diabetic skin, compared to its well-documented impact on normal skin, particularly focusing on carcinogenesis and aging. Employing hairless SKH-hr2, Type 1 and 2 diabetic, and nondiabetic male mice, the research subjected these to UV radiation thrice weekly for eight months. The investigation included comprehensive assessments of photoaging and photocarcinogenesis in diabetic versus normal skin, measuring factors such as hydration, trans-epidermal water loss, elasticity, skin thickness, melanin, sebum content, stratum corneum exfoliation and body weight, alongside photo documentation. Additionally, oxidative stress and the presence of hydrophilic antioxidants (uric acid and glutathione) in the stratum corneum were evaluated. Histopathological examination post-sacrifice provided insights into the morphological changes. Findings reveal that under UV exposure, Type 1 diabetic skin showed heightened dehydration, thinning, and signs of accelerated aging. Remarkably, Type 1 diabetic mice did not develop squamous cell carcinoma or pigmented nevi, contrary to normal and Type 2 diabetic skin. This unexpected resistance to UV-induced skin cancers in Type 1 diabetic skin prompts a crucial need for further research to uncover the underlying mechanisms providing this resistance.

Transcription factor BACH1 in cancer: roles, mechanisms, and prospects for targeted therapy

Transcription factor BTB domain and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) belongs to the Cap 'n' Collar and basic region Leucine Zipper (CNC-bZIP) family. BACH1 is widely expressed in mammalian tissues, where it regulates epigenetic modifications, heme homeostasis, and oxidative stress. Additionally, it is involved in immune system development. More importantly, BACH1 is highly expressed in and plays a key role in numerous malignant tumors, affecting cellular metabolism, tumor invasion and metastasis, proliferation, different cell death pathways, drug resistance, and the tumor microenvironment. However, few articles systematically summarized the roles of BACH1 in cancer. This review aims to highlight the research status of BACH1 in malignant tumor behaviors, and summarize its role in immune regulation in cancer. Moreover, this review focuses on the potential of BACH1 as a novel therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker. Notably, the mechanisms underlying the roles of BACH1 in ferroptosis, oxidative stress and tumor microenvironment remain to be explored. BACH1 has a dual impact on cancer, which affects the accuracy and efficiency of targeted drug delivery. Finally, the promising directions of future BACH1 research are prospected. A systematical and clear understanding of BACH1 would undoubtedly take us one step closer to facilitating its translation from basic research into the clinic.

BACH1 Loss Exerts Antitumor Effects on Mantle Cell Lymphoma Cells via Inducing a Tumor-Intrinsic Innate Immune Response and Cell-Cycle Arrest

BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) is a transcription repressor that regulates multiple physiological processes, including intracellular heme homeostasis and immune responses. Increasing lines of evidence indicate that BACH1 reshapes metastasis and metabolism of human solid tumors. However, its potential roles in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) remain largely unknown. Here, we found that silencing BACH1 in MCL cells induced markedly cell-cycle arrest and cell apoptosis, whereas overexpression of BACH1 exhibited the opposite patterns. Increased BACH1 levels not only promoted tumor growth and dispersal in xenografts, but also conferred a long-term poor prognosis in patients with MCL. Interestingly, RNA sequencing analysis revealed noncanonical function of BACH1 in regulation of type I interferon (IFNI) response, DNA replication and repair, and cell cycle. Mechanistically, zinc finger and BTB domain containing 20 (ZBTB20) and HMG-box transcription factor 1 (HBP1) were for the first time identified as two novel downstream targets repressed by BACH1 in MCL cells. Further double-knockdown functional assays confirmed that loss of BACH1 induced ZBTB20-mediated IFNα production and HBP1-mediated cell-cycle arrest, indicating that BACH1-centered regulatory network may be a novel targetable vulnerability in MCL cells.

IMPLICATIONS

BACH1 serves as a pleotropic regulator of tumor-intrinsic innate immune response and cell-cycle progression, disruption of which may offer a promising therapeutic strategy for MCL treatment.

BACH1 promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell metastasis through transcriptional activation of ITGA2

BACH1 plays an important role in promoting cancer. This study aims to further verify the relationship between the expression level of BACH1 in lung adenocarcinoma prognosis, as well as the influence of BACH1 expression on lung adenocarcinoma and the potential mechanism. The expression level of BACH1 in lung adenocarcinoma and its relationship with prognosis was evaluated by lung adenocarcinoma tissue microarray analysis combined with bioinformatics approaches. Gene knockdown and overexpression were used to investigate the functions and molecular mechanisms of BACH1 in lung adenocarcinoma cells. The regulatory downstream pathways and target genes of BACH1 in lung adenocarcinoma cells were explored by bioinformatics and RNA sequencing data analysis, real-time PCR, western blot analysis, and cell immunofluorescence and cell adhesion assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assays were carried out to verify the target gene binding site. In the present study, BACH1 is abnormally highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues, and high BACH1 expression is negatively correlated with patient prognosis. BACH1 promotes the migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Mechanistically, BACH1 directly binds to the upstream sequence of the ITGA2 promoter to promote ITGA2 expression, and the BACH1-ITGA2 axis is involved in cytoskeletal regulation in lung adenocarcinoma cells by activating the FAK-RAC1-PAK signaling pathway. Our results indicated that BACH1 positively regulates the expression of ITGA2 through a transcriptional mechanism, thereby activating the FAK-RAC1-PAK signaling pathway to participate in the formation of the cytoskeleton in tumor cells and then promoting the migration and invasion of tumor cells.

Ferroptosis model system by the re-expression of BACH1

Ferroptosis is a regulated cell death induced by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. The heme-responsive transcription factor BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) promotes ferroptosis by repressing the transcription of genes involved in glutathione (GSH) synthesis and intracellular labile iron metabolism, which are key regulatory pathways in ferroptosis. We found that BACH1 re-expression in Bach1-/- immortalized mouse embryonic fibroblasts (iMEFs) can induce ferroptosis upon 2-mercaptoethanol removal, without any ferroptosis inducers. In these iMEFs, GSH synthesis was reduced, and intracellular labile iron levels were increased upon BACH1 re-expression. We used this system to investigate whether the major ferroptosis regulators glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) and apoptosis-inducing factor mitochondria-associated 2 (Aifm2), the gene for ferroptosis suppressor protein 1, are target genes of BACH1. Neither Gpx4 nor Aifm2 was regulated by BACH1 in the iMEFs. However, we found that BACH1 represses AIFM2 transcription in human pancreatic cancer cells. These results suggest that the ferroptosis regulators targeted by BACH1 may vary across different cell types and animal species. Furthermore, we confirmed that the ferroptosis induced by BACH1 re-expression exhibited a propagating effect. BACH1 re-expression represents a new strategy for inducing ferroptosis after GPX4 or system Xc- suppression and is expected to contribute to future ferroptosis research.

Recent Advances in Transcription Factors Biomarkers and Targeted Therapies Focusing on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Transcription factors involve many proteins in the process of transactivating or transcribing (none-) encoded DNA to initiate and regulate downstream signals, such as RNA polymerase. Their unique characteristic is that they possess specific domains that bind to specific DNA element sequences called enhancer or promoter sequences. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in cancer progression. Many dysregulated transcription factors-such as Myc, SNAIs, Twists, and ZEBs-are key drivers of tumor metastasis through EMT regulation. This review summarizes currently available evidence related to the oncogenic role of classified transcription factors in EMT editing and epigenetic regulation, clarifying the roles of the classified conserved transcription factor family involved in the EMT and how these factors could be used as therapeutic targets in future investigations.

Pathophysiological role of BACH transcription factors in digestive system diseases

BTB and CNC homologous (BACH) proteins, including BACH1 and BACH2, are transcription factors that are widely expressed in human tissues. BACH proteins form heterodimers with small musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma (MAF) proteins to suppress the transcription of target genes. Furthermore, BACH1 promotes the transcription of target genes. BACH proteins regulate physiological processes, such as the differentiation of B cells and T cells, mitochondrial function, and heme homeostasis as well as pathogenesis related to inflammation, oxidative-stress damage caused by drugs, toxicants, or infections; autoimmunity disorders; and cancer angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, chemotherapy resistance, progression, and metabolism. In this review, we discuss the function of BACH proteins in the digestive system, including the liver, gallbladder, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, and pancreas. BACH proteins directly target genes or indirectly regulate downstream molecules to promote or inhibit biological phenomena such as inflammation, tumor angiogenesis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. BACH proteins are also regulated by proteins, miRNAs, LncRNAs, labile iron, and positive and negative feedback. Additionally, we summarize a list of regulators targeting these proteins. Our review provides a reference for future studies on targeted drugs in digestive diseases.

JUND facilitates proliferation and angiogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell via MAPRE2 up-regulation

OBJECTIVE

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a globally aggressive malignant tumor. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of JUND in ESCC development via MAPRE2.

METHODS

ESCC cells (KYSE-450 and ECA109) were transfected with small interfering RNA (si)-JUND, si-MAPRE2, si-JUND, or pcDNA3.1-MAPRE2. JUND and MAPRE2 expression in ESCC cells was detected with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Cell counting kit-8 and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine assays were used to determine ESCC cell proliferation. Dual-luciferase reporter gene and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to assess binding between JUND and MAPRE2. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were co-cultured with ESCC cell supernatants. Angiogenesis was assessed with an in vitro angiogenesis assay. Western blot was conducted to evaluate the expression of angiogenic proteins [vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9), and angiopoietin-2 (ang2)].

RESULTS

The levels of expression of JUND and MAPRE2 were high in ESCC cells. Mechanistically, JUND bound to MAPRE2 promoter and increased MAPRE2 transcription. Downregulation of JUND or MAPRE2 inhibited KYSE-450 and ECA109 cell proliferation and reduced the levels of expression of VEGFA, MMP-9, and ang2 and tube formation in HUVECs co-cultured with ESCC cell supernatants. MAPRE2 upregulation counteracted the inhibitory effects of JUND silencing on cell proliferative and angiogenic capabilities in ESCC.

CONCLUSIONS

JUND promoted MAPRE2 transcription, thereby facilitating cell proliferative and angiogenic abilities in ESCC.

BACH1-induced ferroptosis drives lymphatic metastasis by repressing the biosynthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the fatal malignancies worldwide. It has an increased propensity to metastasize via lymphogenous routes in an early stage. The prognosis of patients with lymph node metastases (LNM) is often worse than that of patients without metastases. Although several factors have been found to influence metastasis, the mechanisms of preference for specific metastatic routes remain poorly understood. Herein, we provide evidence that the intrinsic hypersensitivity of tumor cells to ferroptosis may proactively drive lymphatic metastasis. Serum autoantibodies associated with LNM of early ESCC were screened using a whole-proteome protein array containing 19 394 human recombinant proteins, and an anti-BACH1 autoantibody was first identified. Pan-cancer analysis of ferroptosis-related genes with preferential lymphatic metastasis and preferential hematogenous metastasis based on The Cancer Genome Atlas data was performed. Only BACH1 showed significant overexpression in tumors with preferential lymphatic metastasis, whereas it was downregulated in most tumors with preferential nonlymphatic metastasis. In addition, it was found that the serum levels of autoantibodies against BACH1 were elevated in early-stage patients with LNM. Interestingly, BACH1 overexpression and ferroptosis induction promoted LNM but inhibited hematogenous metastasis in mouse models. Transcriptomic and lipidomic analyses found that BACH1 repressed SCD1-mediated biosynthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid (OA). OA significantly attenuated the ferroptotic phenotypes and reversed the metastatic properties of BACH1-overexpressing cells. OA addition significantly rescued the ferroptotic phenotypes and reversed the metastatic properties of BACH1-overexpressing cells. Importantly, the concentration gradient of OA between primary lesions and the lymph resulted in the chemoattraction of tumor cells to promote invasion, thus facilitating lymphatic metastasis. BACH1-induced ferroptosis drives lymphatic metastasis via the BACH1-SCD1-OA axis. More importantly, this study confirms that ferroptosis is a double-edged sword in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. The clinical application of ferroptosis-associated agents requires a great caution.

Role of Ferroptosis in Regulating the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic interstitial lung disease whose pathogenesis involves a complex interaction of cell types and signaling pathways. Lung epithelial cells responding to repeated injury experience persistent inflammation and sustained epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The persistence of EMT-induced signals generates extracellular matrix accumulation, thereby causing fibrosis. Ferroptosis is a newly characterized iron-dependent non-apoptotic regulated cell death. Increased iron accumulation can increase iron-induced oxidant damage in alveolar epithelial cells. Studies have demonstrated that iron steady states and oxidation steady states play an important role in the iron death regulation of EMT. This review summarizes the role of ferroptosis in regulating EMT in pulmonary fibrosis, aiming to provide a new idea for the prevention and treatment of this disease.

BACH1 promotes clear cell renal cell carcinoma progression by upregulating oxidative stress-related tumorigenicity

The carcinogenesis and progression of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a heterogeneous cancer derived from renal tubular epithelial cells, is closely related to oxidative stress responses (OSRs). Oxidative stress responses participate in various biological processes related to the metabolism and metastatic potential of cancer such as inflammation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and angiogenesis. In this study, we investigated the role of broad complex-tramtrack-bric-a-brac and cap 'n' collar homology 1 (BACH1), a key transcription factor for OSRs, in clear cell RCC (ccRCC) development and prognosis. The poor prognosis and elevation of serum inflammation markers in nephrectomized ccRCC patients were correlated with the intratumor expression of BACH1 accompanied by a downregulation of heme oxygenase-1. BACH1 contributes to the invasion and migration abilities of RCC cell lines without affecting their proliferation in vitro. In contrast, BACH1 contributes to tumor progression in vivo, in relation to OSRs with the activation of EMT-related pathways. BACH1 involvement in other OSR-linked pathways, including inflammatory responses, angiogenesis, and mTOR signaling, was further revealed by RNA sequencing analysis of BACH1-knockdown cells. In conclusion, the crucial role of BACH1 in the pathogenesis and poor prognosis of ccRCC through the promotion of OSRs is suggested.

BTB domain and CNC homolog 1 promotes glioma invasion mainly through regulating extracellular matrix and increases ferroptosis sensitivity

BTB Domain and CNC Homolog 1 (Bach1) has been implicated in cancer progression, particularly in invasion, but little is unknown about its effect on glioma. Here, we confirmed that highly expressed Bach1 prominently promoted glioma invasion. Similar to the reported mechanisms in other tumors, Bach1 upregulation was also correlated with epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in glioma cells. More importantly, proteomic analysis indicated that the main mechanism of Bach1 promoting invasion in glioma involved extracellular matrix (ECM). We further found thatBach1 upregulation was associated with the multiple mechanisms of ECM remodeling in glioma, including increasing the expression and deposition of ECM components, activating TGFBR2-smad2/3 signaling, promoting invadopodia formation and inducing the expression and secretion of MMP2. Meanwhile, Bach1 overexpression increased ferroptosis sensitivity in glioma cells. The ferroptosis inducer (sulfasalazine) obviously suppressed the gliomas with Bach1 upregulation in vitro and in vivo. Overall, Bach1 has a two-faced role in glioma. Highly expressed Bach1 promotes glioma invasion. Conversely, Bach1 upregulation is also a potential indicator of the sensitivity of ferroptosis inducers.

The Cys-Pro motifs in the intrinsically disordered regions of the transcription factor BACH1 mediate distinct and overlapping functions upon heme binding

The function of the transcription factor BACH1 is regulated by heme binding to multiple Cys-Pro (CP) motifs within its intrinsically disordered regions. Here, biochemical analyses were conducted to reveal the individual functional roles of the CP motifs. Our findings revealed that four CP motifs in BACH1 individually contributed to the regulation of BACH1 activity by accepting heme in five- and six-coordination manner. The model structure around the bZip domain indicated that the CP motifs are in the N- and C-terminal heme-binding regions, which are approximately 9 nm apart, suggesting that spatial location is important for the individual function of the CP motifs. The presence of multiple CP motifs with distinct roles may ensure the multifaceted, strict regulation of BACH1 by heme.

Ferroptosis: regulation by competition between NRF2 and BACH1 and propagation of the death signal

Ferroptosis is triggered by a chain of intracellular labile iron-dependent peroxidation of cell membrane phospholipids. Ferroptosis is important not only as a cause of ischaemic and neurodegenerative diseases but also as a mechanism of cancer suppression, and a better understanding of its regulatory mechanism is required. It has become clear that ferroptosis is finely controlled by two oxidative stress-responsive transcription factors, NRF2 (NF-E2-related factor 2) and BACH1 (BTB and CNC homology 1). NRF2 and BACH1 inhibit and promote ferroptosis, respectively, by activating or suppressing the expression of genes in the major regulatory pathways of ferroptosis: intracellular labile iron metabolism, the GSH (glutathione) -GPX4 (glutathione peroxidase 4) pathway and the FSP1 (ferroptosis suppressor protein 1)-CoQ (coenzyme Q) pathway. In addition to this, NRF2 and BACH1 control ferroptosis through the regulation of lipid metabolism and cell differentiation. This multifaceted regulation of ferroptosis by NRF2 and BACH1 is considered to have been acquired during the evolution of multicellular organisms, allowing the utilization of ferroptosis for maintaining homeostasis, including cancer suppression. In terms of cell-cell interaction, it has been revealed that ferroptosis has the property of propagating to surrounding cells along with lipid peroxidation. The regulation of ferroptosis by NRF2 and BACH1 and the propagation phenomenon could be used to realize anticancer cell therapy in the future. In this review, these points will be summarized and discussed.

Knockdown of long non-coding RNA SNHG8 suppresses the progression of esophageal cancer by regulating miR-1270/BACH1 axis

The emerging evidence showed that lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) could regulate the progression and affect the malignant behaviors of cancers. LncRNA SNHG8 (small nucleolar RNA host gene 8) has been reported to participate in most cancers development. Here in this study, the role of lncRNA SNHG8 in esophageal cancer was uncovered by a series of functional experiments. The expression pattern of SNHG8 in tumor tissues or cells was first detected by qRT-PCR. Using a lentivirus knockdown shRNA is to repress the expression of SNHG8. Subsequently, the in vitro and in vivo experiments were utilized to evaluate whether the malignant behaviors of esophageal cancer were influenced by knockdown SNHG8. The results indicated that lncRNA SNHG8 should be a cancer-promoting factor with a relatively high expression level in esophageal cancer. Moreover, knockdown SNHG8 inhibited the cell viability and induced cell apoptosis in KYSE30 and TE-1 cells. In addition, based on the results of the binding site analysis and the luciferase reporter system, SNHG8 functions by the miR-1270/BACH1 axis. The follow-up experiments verified that lncRNA SNHG8 could down-regulate the expression of miR-1270 to increase the BACH1 expression. Finally, we confirmed that knockdown SNHG8 retarded the progression of esophageal cancer with a xenograft model. To sum up, our findings suggested that lncRNA SNHG8 is a cancer-promoting factor in esophageal cancer. Knockdown SNHG8 could suppress the progression of esophageal cancer, which implies SNHG8 could be used as a therapeutic target in esophageal cancer.

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition and its transcription factors

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition or EMT is an extremely dynamic process involved in conversion of epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells, stimulated by an ensemble of signaling pathways, leading to change in cellular morphology, suppression of epithelial characters and acquisition of properties such as enhanced cell motility and invasiveness, reduced cell death by apoptosis, resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs etc. Significantly, EMT has been found to play a crucial role during embryonic development, tissue fibrosis and would healing, as well as during cancer metastasis. Over the years, work from various laboratories have identified a rather large number of transcription factors (TFs) including the master regulators of EMT, with the ability to regulate the EMT process directly. In this review, we put together these EMT TFs and discussed their role in the process. We have also tried to focus on their mechanism of action, their interdependency, and the large regulatory network they form. Subsequently, it has become clear that the composition and structure of the transcriptional regulatory network behind EMT probably varies based upon various physiological and pathological contexts, or even in a cell/tissue type-dependent manner.

The transcription factor BACH1 at the crossroads of cancer biology: From epithelial-mesenchymal transition to ferroptosis

The progression of cancer involves not only the gradual evolution of cells by mutations in DNA but also alterations in the gene expression induced by those mutations and input from the surrounding microenvironment. Such alterations contribute to cancer cells' abilities to reprogram metabolic pathways and undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which facilitate the survival of cancer cells and their metastasis to other organs. Recently, BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1), a heme-regulated transcription factor that represses genes involved in iron and heme metabolism in normal cells, was shown to shape the metabolism and metastatic potential of cancer cells. The growing list of BACH1 target genes in cancer cells reveals that BACH1 promotes metastasis by regulating various sets of genes beyond iron metabolism. BACH1 represses the expression of genes that mediate cell–cell adhesion and oxidative phosphorylation but activates the expression of genes required for glycolysis, cell motility, and matrix protein degradation. Furthermore, BACH1 represses FOXA1 gene encoding an activator of epithelial genes and activates SNAI2 encoding a repressor of epithelial genes, forming a feedforward loop of EMT. By synthesizing these observations, we propose a “two-faced BACH1 model”, which accounts for the dynamic switching between metastasis and stress resistance along with cancer progression. We discuss here the possibility that BACH1-mediated promotion of cancer also brings increased sensitivity to iron-dependent cell death (ferroptosis) through crosstalk of BACH1 target genes, imposing programmed vulnerability upon cancer cells. We also discuss the future directions of this field, including the dynamics and plasticity of EMT.