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Author Spotlight: Tracing the Ferroptotic Signatures and Cell Death Dynamics in Medulloblastoma for Advanced Therapeutics
Published on: March 15, 2024
Visual analysis on ferroptosis and its cross-talk to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Junda Zhou1, Wenjia Ni2, Xianqin Zhang2
1College of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China.
Insights
Ferroptosis, a programmed cell death, is linked to COVID-19 through 13 shared genes, offering potential new therapeutic targets. This research visualizes ferroptosis studies and identifies key genes for future COVID-19 treatments.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Science
- Cell Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Ferroptosis is a distinct form of programmed cell death.
- Despite extensive research, the role of ferroptosis in COVID-19 pathogenesis remains underexplored.
- COVID-19 continues to be a global health concern, with ongoing research into its mechanisms crucial for pandemic mitigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a bibliometric and visual analysis of ferroptosis research.
- To identify shared genes between ferroptosis and COVID-19.
- To provide insights into potential therapeutic targets for COVID-19.
Main Methods:
- Bibliometric and visual atlas analysis using CiteSpace 6.2 R4 software.
- Gene mining for ferroptosis and COVID-19 using the Genecards database.
- Identification of shared genes and pathway enrichment analysis.
Main Results:
- A growing body of research on ferroptosis was observed, with significant contributions from China and the United States.
- Thirteen genes were identified as shared between ferroptosis and COVID-19.
- These shared genes, including TNF, RELA, and ATF4, are primarily enriched in tumor necrosis factor pathways and are upregulated during oxidative stress responses.
Conclusions:
- The identified shared genes represent potential novel therapeutic targets for COVID-19.
- Understanding the role of ferroptosis in SARS-CoV-2 infection is critical for developing effective treatment strategies.
- This study provides a valuable reference for future research and clinical interventions related to ferroptosis and COVID-19.
Background:
Ferroptosis is a new type of programmed cell death. Although ferroptosis has been studied in various aspects, there has been no visual analysis of ferroptosis in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to date. It is still a global health concern of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, three years after its outbreak. Yet the emergence of the mutant strain Omicron has caused a fourth wave of infections in many countries. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 is still undergoing extensive exploration, which holds paramount importance in mitigating future epidemics.
Methods:
For this study, CiteSpace 6.2 R4 software was used for bibliometric and visual atlas analysis of ferroptosis-related research, and the Genecards database was used to mine ferroptosis and COVID-19-related genes.
Results:
We found increasing studies about ferroptosis. China and the United States have demonstrated robust scientific innovation over recent years, with extensive collaboration between their institutions and authors. Ferroptosis and COVID-19 were seen to have 13 shared genes, which may be new targets for the treatment of COVID-19 in the future. Most of the shared genes are enriched in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) pathways. The majority of those genes are up-regulated under the cellular response to oxidative stress. Genes including Tumour necrosis factor (TNF), RELA proto-oncogene (RELA), Activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), Cytochrome b-245 beta chain (CYBB), Jun proto-oncogene (JUN), Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) and Heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1), maybe a breakthrough for ferroptosis and COVID-19. Whilst previous research has shown there to be a relationship between ferroptosis and COVID-19, the specific role of ferroptosis remained unclear. Our study aimed to analyze the research status of ferroptosis and its relationship with COVID-19, to provide a useful reference for further prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Overall, uncovering the role of ferroptosis in SARS-CoV-2 infection is important for the development of new treatment strategies for COVID-19.
