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Author Spotlight: Tracing the Ferroptotic Signatures and Cell Death Dynamics in Medulloblastoma for Advanced Therapeutics
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Author Spotlight: Tracing the Ferroptotic Signatures and Cell Death Dynamics in Medulloblastoma for Advanced Therapeutics

Published on: March 15, 2024

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ALKBH5: a double-edged sword in cancer ferroptosis regulation: A review

Boran Huang1, Xinyu Zhang1, Jingyi Chen1

  • 1Henan International Joint Laboratory for Nuclear Protein Regulation, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, Henan, China.

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
|October 1, 2025
PubMed

Insights

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase ALKBH5 has dual roles in cancer, impacting ferroptosis. This review explores ALKBH5

Area of Science:

  • Epitranscriptomics
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cell Death Mechanisms

Background:

  • N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification regulates RNA metabolism via writers, erasers, and readers.
  • ALKBH5, an m6A demethylase, exhibits context-dependent roles in cancer, influencing gene expression.
  • Ferroptosis, a form of regulated cell death, is implicated in tumor progression and therapy resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review the dual role of ALKBH5 in regulating ferroptosis in cancer.
  • To elucidate the tumor-suppressive and tumor-promoting mechanisms of ALKBH5 in various malignancies.
  • To understand the complex interplay between ALKBH5 and ferroptosis pathways in cancer development.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies investigating ALKBH5 and ferroptosis in cancer.
  • Analysis of ALKBH5's impact on mRNA stability, translation, and splicing related to ferroptosis.
  • Examination of ALKBH5's dual functions across different cancer types.

Main Results:

  • ALKBH5 acts as a "double-edged sword" in cancer, modulating ferroptosis.
  • ALKBH5 can promote or suppress tumor development by regulating ferroptosis pathways.
  • The specific mechanisms are context-dependent and vary across different malignancies.

Conclusions:

  • ALKBH5 plays a critical and complex role in ferroptosis, influencing cancer progression.
  • Understanding ALKBH5's dual function in ferroptosis is crucial for developing targeted cancer therapies.
  • Further research is needed to fully delineate ALKBH5's precise mechanisms in diverse cancers.
Keywords:
ALKBH5Double-edged swordFerroptosisTumor microenvironmentm(6)A modification

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