Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
04:01
Revealing the Ferroptotic Phenotype of Medulloblastoma
Published on: March 15, 2024
Ferroptotic propagation: from single-cell execution to tissue-scale death programs
Daolin Tang1, Rui Kang2, Guido Kroemer3,4,5
1Department of Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA. daolin.tang@utsouthwestern.edu.
Cell Research
|July 30, 2026
Summary
Ferroptosis, a form of cell death, can spread between cells and across tissues. This research proposes a new framework for understanding ferroptosis contagion across multiple scales.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
Background:
- Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death pathway.
- Traditionally viewed as cell-autonomous, recent evidence shows ferroptosis can spread between cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate mechanistic insights and experimental evidence on ferroptosis contagion.
- To propose a unifying, multiscale framework for ferroptosis transmission.
- To discuss implications for tissue remodeling, organ injury, and cancer therapy.
Main Methods:
- Review and integration of existing mechanistic insights and experimental data on ferroptosis contagion.
- Development of a theoretical framework to explain multiscale ferroptosis transmission.
Main Results:
- Ferroptosis can spread through various contagion modes: ROS-triggered waves, membrane contact, and extracellular vesicles.
- Distinct transmission modes operate at different spatial scales.
- Nonlinear redox amplification, membrane biophysics, and tissue architecture influence ferroptosis dynamics in vivo.
Conclusions:
- Ferroptosis is a spatially coordinated, multicellular process, not just cell-autonomous.
- The proposed framework helps understand ferroptosis spread in development, injury, and therapy.
- Understanding ferroptosis contagion is key for therapeutic manipulation and tissue regulation.
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