A novel treatment strategy to prevent Parkinson's disease: focus on iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1)

Identification and verification of the optimal feature genes of ferroptosis in thyroid-associated orbitopathy

Background

Thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the orbital adipose tissue, primarily causing oxidative stress injury and tissue remodeling in the orbital connective tissue. Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death driven by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), iron metabolism disorder, and lipid peroxidation. This study aims to identify and validate the optimal feature genes (OFGs) of ferroptosis with diagnostic and therapeutic potential in TAO orbital adipose tissue through bioinformatics analysis and to assess their correlation with disease-related immune cell infiltration.

Methods

Search of the Gene Expression Omnibus database for TAO-related gene datasets led to the selection of GSE58331 for differential gene expression analysis. WGCNA was employed to identify key disease modules and hub genes. The intersection of DEGs, hub genes and ferroptosis-related gene yielded key genes of ferroptosis. Machine learning algorithms identified OFGs of ferroptosis. Meanwhile, by comparing the expression of FRGs in the orbital adipose tissue and the orbital fibroblasts (OFs) of healthy controls and TAO patients, as well as co-culturing macrophages and OFs in vitro, the influence of macrophages on FRGs in OFs was explored. CIBERSORT analyzed immune cell infiltration to determine proportions of immune cell types in each sample, and Spearman correlation analysis explored relationships between OFGs and infiltrating immune cells. Finally, GSEA determined the function of each key biomarker based on the median expression of OFGs.

Results

Three TAO FRGs (ACO1, MMD, and HCAR1) were screened in the dataset. The ROC results of ACO1 showed that the AUC value was greater than 0.8 in all the datasets, which was the strongest for disease specificity and diagnostic ability. Validation results showed that, in addition to MMD, the expression of ACO1 and HCAR1 in orbital adipose tissue of TAO patients was significantly down-regulated, while M2-type macrophages might be involved in regulating the expression of ACO1 in orbital adipose-derived OFs. CIBERSORT immune cell infiltration analysis showed that in orbital adipose tissue of TAO patients, memory B-lymphocytes, T regulatory cells, NK-cells, M0-type macrophages, M1-type macrophages, resting dendritic cells, activated mast cells, and neutrophils infiltration levels were significantly elevated.

Conclusion

Through bioinformatics analysis, this study identified and validated two OFGs of ferroptosis with diagnostic and therapeutic potential in TAO orbital adipose tissue, suggesting that the downregulation of ACO1 and HCAR1 may be potential molecular targets in the pathogenesis of TAO.

Targeting Ferroptosis in Parkinson's Disease: Mechanisms and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the accumulation of α-synuclein in the brain. Ferroptosis, a recently identified form of regulated cell death, is critical in PD pathogenesis due to its association with iron deposition, overproduction of reactive oxygen species, iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and impaired lipid peroxidation clearance. This cell death mechanism is closely linked to several pathogenic processes in PD, including α-synuclein aggregation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, microglia-induced neuroinflammation, and neuromelanin accumulation. Given the significant role of ferroptosis in these mechanisms, there is increasing interest in targeting ferroptosis for PD treatment. Several drugs have shown potential in alleviating PD symptoms by inhibiting ferroptosis. This review aims to consolidate current knowledge on ferroptosis in PD and assess the therapeutic potential of anti-ferroptosis drugs, highlighting promising directions for future research and clinical applications.

Ferroptosis in Parkinson's disease -- The iron-related degenerative disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent and advancing age-related neurodegenerative disorder, distinguished by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Iron regional deposit in SNpc is a significant pathological characteristic of PD. Brain iron homeostasis is precisely regulated by iron metabolism related proteins, whereas disorder of these proteins can damage neurons and glial cells in the brain. Additionally, growing studies have reported iron metabolism related proteins are involved in the ferroptosis progression in PD. However, the effect of these proteins in the ferroptosis of PD has not been systematically summarized. This review focuses on the roles of iron metabolism related proteins in the ferroptosis of PD. Finally, we put forward the iron early diagnosis according to the observation of iron deposits in the brain and showed the recent advances in iron chelation therapy in PD.

The molecular mechanism of ferroptosis and its relationship with Parkinson's disease

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) have complex pathogenetic mechanisms. Genetic, age, and environmental factors are all related to PD. Due to the unclear pathogenesis of PD and the lack of effective cure methods, it is urgent to find new targets for treating PD patients. Ferroptosis is a form of cell death that is reliant on iron and exhibits distinct morphological and mechanistic characteristics compared to other types of cell death. It encompasses a range of biological processes, including iron/lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. In recent years, research has found that ferroptosis plays a crucial role in the pathophysiological processes of neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. Therefore, ferroptosis is also closely related to PD, This article reviews the core mechanisms of ferroptosis and elucidates the correlation between PD and ferroptosis. In addition, new compounds that have emerged in recent years to exert anti PD effects by inhibiting the ferroptosis signaling pathway were summarized. I hope to further elaborate the relationship between ferroptosis and PD through the review of this article, and provide new strategies for developing PD treatments targeting ferroptosis.

Mapping the Research of Ferroptosis in Parkinson's Disease from 2013 to 2023: A Scientometric Review

Methods

Related studies on PD and ferroptosis were searched in Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) from inception to 2023. VOSviewer, CiteSpace, RStudio, and Scimago Graphica were employed as bibliometric analysis tools to generate network maps about the collaborations between authors, countries, and institutions and to visualize the co-occurrence and trends of co-cited references and keywords.

Results

A total of 160 original articles and reviews related to PD and ferroptosis were retrieved, produced by from 958 authors from 162 institutions. Devos David was the most prolific author, with 9 articles. China and the University of Melbourne had leading positions in publication volume with 84 and 12 publications, respectively. Current hot topics focus on excavating potential new targets for treating PD based on ferroptosis by gaining insight into specific molecular mechanisms, including iron metabolism disorders, lipid peroxidation, and imbalanced antioxidant regulation. Clinical studies aimed at treating PD by targeting ferroptosis remain in their preliminary stages.

Conclusion

A continued increase was shown in the literature within the related field over the past decade. The current study suggested active collaborations among authors, countries, and institutions. Research into the pathogenesis and treatment of PD based on ferroptosis has remained a prominent topic in the field in recent years, indicating that ferroptosis-targeted therapy is a potential approach to halting the progression of PD.

Targeting epigenetic and posttranslational modifications regulating ferroptosis for the treatment of diseases

Ferroptosis, a unique modality of cell death with mechanistic and morphological differences from other cell death modes, plays a pivotal role in regulating tumorigenesis and offers a new opportunity for modulating anticancer drug resistance. Aberrant epigenetic modifications and posttranslational modifications (PTMs) promote anticancer drug resistance, cancer progression, and metastasis. Accumulating studies indicate that epigenetic modifications can transcriptionally and translationally determine cancer cell vulnerability to ferroptosis and that ferroptosis functions as a driver in nervous system diseases (NSDs), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), liver diseases, lung diseases, and kidney diseases. In this review, we first summarize the core molecular mechanisms of ferroptosis. Then, the roles of epigenetic processes, including histone PTMs, DNA methylation, and noncoding RNA regulation and PTMs, such as phosphorylation, ubiquitination, SUMOylation, acetylation, methylation, and ADP-ribosylation, are concisely discussed. The roles of epigenetic modifications and PTMs in ferroptosis regulation in the genesis of diseases, including cancers, NSD, CVDs, liver diseases, lung diseases, and kidney diseases, as well as the application of epigenetic and PTM modulators in the therapy of these diseases, are then discussed in detail. Elucidating the mechanisms of ferroptosis regulation mediated by epigenetic modifications and PTMs in cancer and other diseases will facilitate the development of promising combination therapeutic regimens containing epigenetic or PTM-targeting agents and ferroptosis inducers that can be used to overcome chemotherapeutic resistance in cancer and could be used to prevent other diseases. In addition, these mechanisms highlight potential therapeutic approaches to overcome chemoresistance in cancer or halt the genesis of other diseases.

Pharmacological Inhibition of Ferroptosis as a Therapeutic Target for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Strokes

Emerging evidence suggests that ferroptosis, a unique regulated cell death modality that is morphologically and mechanistically different from other forms of cell death, plays a vital role in the pathophysiological process of neurodegenerative diseases, and strokes. Accumulating evidence supports ferroptosis as a critical factor of neurodegenerative diseases and strokes, and pharmacological inhibition of ferroptosis as a therapeutic target for these diseases. In this review article, the core mechanisms of ferroptosis are overviewed and the roles of ferroptosis in neurodegenerative diseases and strokes are described. Finally, the emerging findings in treating neurodegenerative diseases and strokes through pharmacological inhibition of ferroptosis are described. This review demonstrates that pharmacological inhibition of ferroptosis by bioactive small-molecule compounds (ferroptosis inhibitors) could be effective for treatments of these diseases, and highlights a potential promising therapeutic avenue that could be used to prevent neurodegenerative diseases and strokes. This review article will shed light on developing novel therapeutic regimens by pharmacological inhibition of ferroptosis to slow down the progression of these diseases in the future.

Novel druggable mechanism of Parkinson's disease: Potential therapeutics and underlying pathogenesis based on ferroptosis

Genetics, age, environmental factors, and oxidative stress have all been implicated in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD); however, a complete understanding of its pathology remains elusive. At present, there is no cure for PD, and currently available therapeutics are insufficient to meet patient needs. Ferroptosis, a distinctive iron-dependent cell death mode characterized by lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, has pathophysiological features similar to those of PD, including iron accumulation, reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative damage, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Ferroptosis has been identified as a specific pathway of neuronal death and is closely related to the pathogenesis of PD. Despite the similarities in the biological targets involved in PD pathogenesis and ferroptosis, the relationship between novel targets in PD and ferroptosis has been neglected in the literature. In this review, the mechanism of ferroptosis is discussed, and the potential therapeutic targets implicated in both PD and ferroptosis are compared. Furthermore, the anti-PD effects of several ferroptosis inhibitors, as well as clinical studies thereof, and the identification of novel lead compounds for the treatment of PD and the inhibition of ferroptosis are reviewed. It is hoped that this review can promote research to further elucidate the relationship between ferroptosis and PD and provide new strategies for the development of novel ferroptosis-targeting PD therapy.

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.

Ferroptosis as a Major Factor and Therapeutic Target for Neuroinflammation in Parkinson's Disease

Mounting evidence suggests that ferroptosis is not just a consequence but also a fundamental contributor to the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Ferroptosis is characterized as iron-dependent regulated cell death caused by excessive lipid peroxidation, leading to plasma membrane rupture, release of damage-associated molecular patterns, and neuroinflammation. Due to the crucial role of intracellular iron in mediating the production of reactive oxygen species and the formation of lipid peroxides, ferroptosis is intimately controlled by regulators involved in many aspects of iron metabolism, including iron uptake, storage and export, and by pathways constituting the antioxidant systems. Translational and transcriptional regulation of iron homeostasis and redox status provide an integrated network to determine the sensitivity of ferroptosis. We herein review recent advances related to ferroptosis, ranging from fundamental mechanistic discoveries and cutting-edge preclinical animal studies, to clinical trials in PD and the regulation of neuroinflammation via ferroptosis pathways. Elucidating the roles of ferroptosis in the survival of dopaminergic neurons and microglial activity can enhance our understanding of the pathogenesis of PD and provide opportunities for the development of novel prevention and treatment strategies.