Fig. 4
From: Ferroptosis: the potential key roles in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
The regulation of fibroblast-myofibroblasts transition (FMT) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by ferroptosis. TGF-β1 stimulation upregulates the expression of transferrin receptor 1 (TFRC) in human lung epithelial cells, leading to increased intracellular Fe2+ levels, which promotes FMT. Sestrin2 acts as a ferroptosis inhibitor by activating the NRF2 signaling pathway to mitigate oxidative stress, thus inhibiting FMT and alleviating ferroptosis. Downregulation of NRF2 significantly reduces the level of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), thereby promoting FMT. The ferroptosis inducer erastin promotes FMT by increasing lipid peroxidation and inhibiting the expression of GPX4