Fig. 3
From: Ferroptosis: the potential key roles in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
The regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by ferroptosis. TGF-β1 stimulation upregulates the expression of transferrin receptor 1 (TFRC) in human lung fibroblasts, leading to increased intracellular Fe2+ levels, which promotes EMT. TGF-β1 also suppresses the GPX4-GSH defense pathway against ferroptosis, while RSL3 can induce both EMT and ferroptosis in IPF by directly inhibiting GPX4. NRF2 translocates to the nucleus, dimerizes with small Maf proteins, and binds to antioxidant response elements (ARE), thereby activating transcription of target genes to maintain cellular homeostasis. Bach1 inhibits the NRF2 signaling pathway by competitively binding to NRF2 dimers, thereby facilitating EMT