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Review
. 2025 Feb;19(1):1-22.
doi: 10.1007/s11684-024-1080-8. Epub 2024 Nov 19.

Ferroptosis contributes to immunosuppression

Nina He  1   2   3   4 , Dun Yuan  1 , Minjie Luo  1   2   3   4 , Qing Xu  1   2   3   4 , Zhongchi Wen  1   2   3   4 , Ziqin Wang  1   2   3   4 , Jie Zhao  5   6   7   8 , Ying Liu  9   10   11   12
Affiliations
Review

Ferroptosis contributes to immunosuppression

Nina He et al. Front Med. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

As a novel form of cell death, ferroptosis is mainly regulated by the accumulation of soluble iron ions in the cytoplasm and the production of lipid peroxides and is closely associated with several diseases, including acute kidney injury, ischemic reperfusion injury, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. The term "immunosuppression" refers to various factors that can directly harm immune cells' structure and function and affect the synthesis, release, and biological activity of immune molecules, leading to the insufficient response of the immune system to antigen production, failure to successfully resist the invasion of foreign pathogens, and even organ damage and metabolic disorders. An immunosuppressive phase commonly occurs in the progression of many ferroptosis-related diseases, and ferroptosis can directly inhibit immune cell function. However, the relationship between ferroptosis and immunosuppression has not yet been published due to their complicated interactions in various diseases. Therefore, this review deeply discusses the contribution of ferroptosis to immunosuppression in specific cases. In addition to offering new therapeutic targets for ferroptosis-related diseases, the findings will help clarify the issues on how ferroptosis contributes to immunosuppression.

Keywords: ferroptosis; immune cells; immunosuppression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with ethics guidelines. Conflict of interests Nina He, Dun Yuan, Minjie Luo, Qing Xu, Zhongchi Wen, Ziqin Wang, Jie Zhao and Ying Liu declare that they have no conflict of interest. This manuscript is a review article and does not involve a research protocol requiring approval by the relevant institutional review board or ethics committee.

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