Iron Metabolism, Ferroptosis, and Anemia Therapeutics
This community investigates how the body acquires, stores, and uses iron, focusing on the consequences of imbalance—specifically deficiency, overload, and the iron-dependent cell death pathway known as ferroptosis.
The work centers on the clinical management of iron deficiency anemia, including the efficacy of intravenous iron versus oral supplementation in patients with heart failure, kidney disease, and during pregnancy. A major parallel strand examines the molecular mechanisms of ferroptosis, a form of regulated cell death driven by lipid peroxidation, and its role in cancer progression, particularly in breast, lung, and colorectal cancers. Recurring themes include the interplay between iron homeostasis and oxidative stress, the function of neutrophil extracellular traps in inflammation, and the development of therapeutic strategies to modulate iron availability in tumor microenvironments.
The largest share of the community's output is found in iron research, accounting for 4.5% of all iron-related papers, with 17,973 papers in this group. Oxygen and sulfur research also contribute significantly, each representing 0.5% of their respective element's total research volume.
The community comprises 30,148 papers, publishing most frequently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Blood, and Frontiers in Immunology.
Recent work continues to explore the therapeutic potential of targeting ferroptosis in glioblastoma and melanoma, as well as novel iron delivery platforms for nutritional fortification.