Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jan-Mar;106(1):368504221147173.
doi: 10.1177/00368504221147173.

_targeting critical pathways in ferroptosis and enhancing antitumor therapy of Platinum drugs for colorectal cancer

Affiliations
Review

_targeting critical pathways in ferroptosis and enhancing antitumor therapy of Platinum drugs for colorectal cancer

Gang Wang et al. Sci Prog. 2023 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) can be resistant to platinum drugs, possibly through ferroptosis suppression, albeit the need for further work to completely understand this mechanism. This work aimed to sum up current findings pertaining to oxaliplatin resistance (OR) or resistance to ascertain the potential of ferroptosis to regulate oxaliplatin effects. In this review, tumor development relating to iron homeostasis, which includes levels of iron that ascertain cells' sensitivity to ferroptosis, oxidative stress, or lipid peroxidation in colorectal tumor cells that are connected with ferroptosis initiation, especially the role of c-Myc/NRF2 signaling in regulating iron homeostasis, coupled with NRF2/GPX4-mediated ferroptosis are discussed. Importantly, ferroptosis plays a key role in OR and ferroptotic induction may substantially reverse OR in CRC cells, which in turn could inhibit the imbalance of intracellular redox induced by oxaliplatin and ferroptosis, as well as cause chemotherapeutic resistance in CRC. Furthermore, fundamental research of small molecules, ferroptosis inducers, GPX4 inhibitors, or natural products for OR coupled with their clinical applications in CRC have also been summarized. Also, potential molecular _targets and mechanisms of small molecules or drugs are discussed as well. Suggestively, OR of CRC cells could significantly be reversed by ferroptosis induction, wherein this result is discussed in the current review. Prospectively, the existing literature discussed in this review will provide a solid foundation for scientists to research the potential use of combined anticancer drugs which can overcome OR via _targeting various mechanisms of ferroptosis. Especially, promising therapeutic strategies, challenges ,and opportunities for CRC therapy will be discussed.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; NRF2/GPX4; Platinum drugs; drug resistance; ferroptosis; iron homeostasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Combining the historical axis of landmark research achievements on ferroptosis and cancer.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Roles and functions of iron homeostasis, LPO and ferroptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). Regulation of the downstream transduction factor c-Myc/NRF2 of the ROS/AKT/mTOR pathway mediates the participation of TfR1 and DMT1 in metabolic homeostasis of iron in cancer cells.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Roles and functions of lipid peroxidation, ferroptosis, and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy associated CRC. Exposure of CRC cells to iron potentially induce activation of NRF2 and ROS, which results in increased accumulation of LPO and proteins associated with GSH as well as GPX4, amid prevention of iron-induced LPO and protection of CRC cells from ferroptosis. Ferroptosis in CRC cells interferes with lipid peroxidation and disrupt the metabolic balance of iron, thereby enhancing the chemosensitivity of drug-resistant cancer cells.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Roles and functions of lipid metabolism, enzymes and ferroptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). The mechanism underlying the regulation of lipid metabolism and enzymes, such as transcriptional factor-1/2 (SREBP1/SREBP2) pathways in cancer cells, induces cell lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Toh JWT, Phan K, Reza Fet al.et al.Rate of dissemination and prognosis in early and advanced stage colorectal cancer based on microsatellite instability status: systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Colorectal Dis 2021; 36: 1573–1596. - PubMed
    1. Li L, Shang J, Zhang Yet al.et al.MEG3 Is a prognostic factor for CRC and promotes chemosensitivity by enhancing oxaliplatin-induced cell apoptosis. Oncol Rep 2017; 38: 1383–1392. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liu MY, Li HM, Wang XYet al.et al.TIGAR Drives colorectal cancer ferroptosis resistance through ROS/AMPK/SCD1 pathway. Free Radic Biol Med 2022; 182: 219–231. - PubMed
    1. Dixon SJ, Lemberg KM, Lamprecht MRet al.Ferroptosis: an iron-dependent form of nonapoptotic cell death. Cell 2012; 149: 1060–1072. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yang WS, SriRamaratnam R, Welsch MEet al.Regulation of ferroptotic cancer cell death by GPX4. Cell 2014; 156: 317–331. - PMC - PubMed
  NODES
twitter 2