Michigan Medicine researchers have discovered a key metabolic pathway that "allows colorectal cancer cells to accumulate large quantities of iron."
Blocking the pathway in question caused the cancer cells to die. Cancer cells accumulate even higher amounts of iron as they become more aggressive, which stands in opposition to normal cells with high levels of iron, which "undergo a type of iron-related cell death called ferroptosis."
Researchers conducted a metabolism-focused CRISPR screen that ended up revealing "cellular heme, an iron-containing molecule, was protecting tumor cells against iron toxicity." They discovered a specific mitochondrial complex, complex II, was "buffering iron-induced cell death by regulating coenzyme Q."
When complex II was knocked out in mouse models, the researchers observed "few side effects." This could make for a promising target in the fight against colorectal cancer. Iron itself was also observed to regulate complex II, which could imply multiple ways to break the cycle to be researched further.
