1. Academic Validation
  2. A non-canonical vitamin K cycle is a potent ferroptosis suppressor

A non-canonical vitamin K cycle is a potent ferroptosis suppressor

  • Nature. 2022 Aug;608(7924):778-783. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05022-3.
Eikan Mishima 1 2 Junya Ito 3 Zijun Wu 4 Toshitaka Nakamura 5 Adam Wahida 5 Sebastian Doll 5 Wulf Tonnus 6 Palina Nepachalovich 7 8 Elke Eggenhofer 9 Maceler Aldrovandi 5 Bernhard Henkelmann 5 Ken-Ichi Yamada 10 Jonas Wanninger 5 Omkar Zilka 4 Emiko Sato 11 Regina Feederle 12 Daniela Hass 13 Adriano Maida 13 André Santos Dias Mourão 14 Andreas Linkermann 6 Edward K Geissler 9 Kiyotaka Nakagawa 3 Takaaki Abe 15 16 Maria Fedorova 7 8 Bettina Proneth 5 Derek A Pratt 4 Marcus Conrad 17
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. eikan@med.tohoku.ac.jp.
  • 2 Division of Nephrology, Rheumatology and Endocrinology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. eikan@med.tohoku.ac.jp.
  • 3 Laboratory of Food Function Analysis, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
  • 4 Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
  • 5 Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.
  • 6 Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
  • 7 Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
  • 8 Zentrum Membranbiochemie und Lipidforschung, Medizinische Fakultät Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University, Dresden, Germany.
  • 9 Department of Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
  • 10 Physical Chemistry for Life Science Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
  • 11 Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sendai, Japan.
  • 12 Monoclonal Antibody Core Facility, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.
  • 13 Institute for Diabetes and Cancer, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.
  • 14 Institute of Structural Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.
  • 15 Division of Nephrology, Rheumatology and Endocrinology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
  • 16 Division of Medical Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Sendai, Japan.
  • 17 Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. marcus.conrad@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
Abstract

Ferroptosis, a non-apoptotic form of cell death marked by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation1, has a key role in organ injury, degenerative disease and vulnerability of therapy-resistant cancers2. Although substantial progress has been made in understanding the molecular processes relevant to Ferroptosis, additional cell-extrinsic and cell-intrinsic processes that determine cell sensitivity toward Ferroptosis remain unknown. Here we show that the fully reduced forms of vitamin K-a group of naphthoquinones that includes menaquinone and phylloquinone3-confer a strong anti-ferroptotic function, in addition to the conventional function linked to blood clotting by acting as a cofactor for γ-glutamyl carboxylase. Ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1), a NAD(P)H-ubiquinone reductase and the second mainstay of Ferroptosis control after glutathione peroxidase-44,5, was found to efficiently reduce vitamin K to its hydroquinone, a potent radical-trapping antioxidant and inhibitor of (phospho)lipid peroxidation. The FSP1-mediated reduction of vitamin K was also responsible for the antidotal effect of vitamin K against warfarin poisoning. It follows that FSP1 is the Enzyme mediating warfarin-resistant vitamin K reduction in the canonical vitamin K cycle6. The FSP1-dependent non-canonical vitamin K cycle can act to protect cells against detrimental lipid peroxidation and Ferroptosis.

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