Cephaeline promotes ferroptosis by targeting NRF2 to exert anti-lung cancer efficacy
Peng Chen, Qingxuan Ye, Liang Shang, Linghui Zeng
Abstract
CONTEXT: [Brot.] A. Rich. [Rubiaceae]). It exhibits promising anti-lung cancer activity and ferroptosis induction may be a key mechanism for its anti-lung cancer effect. OBJECTIVES: . MATERIALS AND METHODS: were evaluated after 12 d of cephaeline treatment. RESULTS: of cephaeline on H460 and A549 at 24, 48 and 72 h were 88, 58 and 35 nM, respectively, for H460 cells and 89, 65 and 43 nM, respectively, for A549 cells. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that ferroptosis is the key mechanism of cephaeline against lung cancer. Finally, we found that cephaeline induced ferroptosis in lung cancer cells by targeting NRF2. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We demonstrated for the first time that cephaeline inhibits NRF2, leading to ferroptosis in lung cancer cells. These findings may contribute to the development of innovative therapeutics for lung cancer.