Ferroptosis: a New Target for the Treatment of Depressive Disorder

Abstract

As a common affective mental disorder, depressive disorder has currently become the second health burden worldwide, however, its pathogenesis remains to be further elucidated. The clinical treatment of depressive disorder primarily relies on western medicine. However, there is great clinical need for effective and rapid-onset antidepressants for the unsatisfactory effect, obvious treatment time-lag, and intolerable adverse reactions of current drug treatment. Ferroptosis is a novel form of cell death discovered in recent years, which has been found to be involved in the pathogenesis of numerous neurological disorders, including depressive disorder. Currently, some studies have shifted the focus of antidepressant treatment towards targeted inhibition of ferroptosis, and achieved positive outcomes. The present paper provides a comprehensive review of the involvement of ferroptosis in depressive disorder pathogenesis and its potential therapeutic implications, drawing on clinical and preclinical evidence that elucidates the underlying mechanisms linking depressive disorder with ferroptotic processes.

Keywords

• depressive disorder|ferroptosis|iron overload|mitochondria|lipid peroxidation|review