The Molecular Interplay Between p53-Mediated Ferroptosis and Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer

Ferroptosis is a type of cell death executed by phospholipid peroxidation in an iron-dependent manner. Ferroptosis plays a central role in inhibiting tumor growth, enhancing the immune response, and is now considered a strategy to combat resistance to anticancer therapies. The oncosuppressor p53 is one of the major regulators of ferroptosis and can either promote or inhibit ferroptosis, depending on the context and/or extent of the damage. p53 governs the transcription of many genes that modulate cell susceptibility to ferroptosis, using this manner of death to fulfill its role as tumor suppressor. The diverse functions of p53 are related to non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially microRNAs (miRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), since they can either regulate p53 or be regulated by p53. Therefore, an intricate metabolic network between ncRNAs and p53 ensures the correct response. In this review, we will discuss recent studies on the molecular interplay between p53-mediated ferroptosis and ncRNAs and how this contributes directly or indirectly to the outcome of ferroptosis.