An illustration of ferroptosis in the lungs of COVID-19 patients. Credit: Nicoletta Barolini/Columbia University (“Fire extinguisher,” by Miki Yoshihito is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
) Researchers at Columbia University have discovered that ferroptosis, a specific type of cell death, is primarily responsible for the lung damage observed in severe COVID-19 cases. This finding could lead to improved treatments, as drugs that inhibit ferroptosis might enhance outcomes for patients. In severe COVID-19 cases, the lungs can suffer extensive damage, leading to life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia, inflammation, and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Until recently, the underlying cause of these wide-ranging lung reactions had not been clearly understood. The Role of Ferroptosis in Cell Death Researchers at Columbia and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center have shed light on this mystery in new research published in Nature Communications . The study found that ferroptosis, a form of cell death first named and identified at Columbia in 2012 , is the major cell death mechanism that underlies COVID-19 lung disease.
The finding indicates that deliberately halting ferroptosis with therapeutic drug candidates could improve COVID-19 outcomes. “This finding adds crucial insight to our understanding of how COVID-19 affects the body that will significantly improve our ability to fight life-threatening cases of the disease,” said Professor Brent Stockwell, one of the s.