Lipid Peroxidation in Ferroptosis and Association with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) constitutes a commonly diagnosed liver pathology with perturbed lipid metabolism, which is mainly caused by excessive accumulation of fat in hepatocytes by various pathogenic factors. Currently, there are no effective drug treatments for NAFLD. Ferroptosis represents a novel form of programmed cell death depending on iron, which is driven by large cellular amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxides. Ferroptosis plays critical regulatory roles in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, and overaccumulation of Fe2+ contributes to lipid peroxidation, which subsequently aggravates NAFLD. Therefore, ferroptosis suppression might constitute an important target for NAFLD treatment. This article reviews the discovery, production pathways, and defense mechanisms of ferroptosis, and explores its association with NAFLD. This may provide new reference targets and strategies for the development of NAFLD drugs from the perspective of ferroptosis.

Keywords: ferritinophagy; ferroptosis; lipid peroxidation; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.