BACH to the ferroptosis.

Abstract

Ferroptosis is regulated cell death characterized by iron-dependent phospholipid peroxidation, and is closely related to various diseases. System Xc -, a cystine/glutamate antiporter, and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) are the key molecules in ferroptosis. Erastin and RSL3, known as inhibitors of system Xc - and GPX4, respectively, are commonly used as ferroptosis inducers. BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1), a heme-binding transcription repressor, promotes pro-ferroptotic signaling, and therefore, Bach1-deficient cells are resistant to ferroptosis. Irikura et al. constructed Bach1-re-expressing immortalized mouse embryonic fibroblasts (iMEFs) from Bach1-/- mice, which induce ferroptosis simply by the depletion of 2-mercaptoethanol from the culture medium (J. Biochem. 2023; 174:239-252). Transcriptional repression by re-expressed BACH1 induces suppressed glutathione synthesis and increases labile iron. Furthermore, the ferroptosis initiated by BACH1-re-expressing iMEFs is propagated to surrounding cells. Thus, the BACH1-re-expression system is a novel and powerful tool to investigate the cellular basis of ferroptosis.