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ACSL4 dictates ferroptosis sensitivity by shaping cellular lipid composition

Nature Chemical Biology volume 13, pages 91–98 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ferroptosis is a form of regulated necrotic cell death controlled by glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). At present, mechanisms that could predict sensitivity and/or resistance and that may be exploited to modulate ferroptosis are needed. We applied two independent approaches—a genome-wide CRISPR-based genetic screen and microarray analysis of ferroptosis-resistant cell lines—to uncover acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) as an essential component for ferroptosis execution. Specifically, Gpx4–Acsl4 double-knockout cells showed marked resistance to ferroptosis. Mechanistically, ACSL4 enriched cellular membranes with long polyunsaturated ω6 fatty acids. Moreover, ACSL4 was preferentially expressed in a panel of basal-like breast cancer cell lines and predicted their sensitivity to ferroptosis. Pharmacological targeting of ACSL4 with thiazolidinediones, a class of antidiabetic compound, ameliorated tissue demise in a mouse model of ferroptosis, suggesting that ACSL4 inhibition is a viable therapeutic approach to preventing ferroptosis-related diseases.

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Figure 1: Identification of ACSL4 as an essential prerequisite for ferroptosis execution.
Figure 2: ACSL4 specifically contributes to ferroptotic cell death.
Figure 3: ACSL4 sensitizes to ferroptosis by specifically esterifying AA and AdA into PE.
Figure 4: ACSL4 predicts sensitivity in a panel of basal-like breast cancer cell lines.
Figure 5: TZDs protect from ferroptosis through inhibition of ACSL4.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank B.R. Stockwell (Columbia University, New York, USA) for providing RSL3 and F. Ursini and M. Maiorino (Universitàdegli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy) for phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide. We would also like to thank A. Berns (the Netherlands Cancer Institute) for providing the ROSA26-CreERT2 mouse line. SK-BR-3 cells were a gift from G. Multhoff (Technical University Munich). This work was in part supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) CO 291/2-3 and CO 291/5-1 to M.C., a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to S.K., the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) RGP0013 to M.C. and V.E.K., the German Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) through the European E-Rare Network for mitochondrial disorders GENOMIT (01GM1603) to H.P., the National Institute of Health (NIH) (P01HL114453, U19AI068021, NS076511, NS061817, ES020693) to V.E.K. and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs (m4 Award) to J.A.S. and M.C.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Sho Kobayashi & Joel A Schick

    Present address: Present addresses: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan (S.K.); Institute of Toxicology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany (J.A.S.).,

  2. José Pedro Friedmann Angeli and Marcus Conrad: These authors jointly directed this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

    Sebastian Doll, Bettina Proneth, Sho Kobayashi, Irina Ingold, Dietrich Trümbach, Wolfgang Wurst, Joel A Schick, José Pedro Friedmann Angeli & Marcus Conrad

  2. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Yulia Y Tyurina, Gaowei Mao, Feng Qu, Hulya Bayir & Valerian E Kagan

  3. Institute of Stem Cell Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

    Elena Panzilius & Christina H Scheel

  4. Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

    Martin Irmler & Johannes Beckers

  5. Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

    Michaela Aichler & Axel Walch

  6. Institute of Human Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

    Holger Prokisch

  7. Technische Universität München, Institute of Human Genetics, München, Germany

    Holger Prokisch

  8. Department of Gastroenterology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Joachim Füllekrug

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Contributions

J.P.F.A., S.D. and M.C. conceived the study. M.A. and A.W. carried out and analyzed electron microscopy studies. Y.Y.T., G.M., F.Q., H.B. and V.E.K. performed oxi-lipidomics analysis and data interpretation. M.I., J.B., H.P. and D.T. conducted microarray analysis, deep-sequencing and analysis. S.D., B.P., E.P., S.K., I.I. and J.P.F.A. performed in vitro and in vivo experiments. J.F., C.H.S. and W.W. provided reagents and participated in the discussion. S.D., J.A.S., J.P.F.A. and M.C. performed evaluation and interpretation of the in vitro data. J.P.F.A. and M.C. wrote the paper. All authors read and agreed on the content of the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to José Pedro Friedmann Angeli or Marcus Conrad.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Text and Figures

Supplementary Results and Supplementary Figures 1–6. (PDF 13257 kb)

Supplementary Table 1

Statistical analysis of expression profiling of ferroptosis-resistant cells. (XLSX 38949 kb)

Supplementary Table 2

Single gRNA counts after RSL3 and erastin selections. (XLSX 8139 kb)

Supplementary Table 3

Gene list of expression profiling of ferroptosis-resistant cells. (XLSX 9555 kb)

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Doll, S., Proneth, B., Tyurina, Y. et al. ACSL4 dictates ferroptosis sensitivity by shaping cellular lipid composition. Nat Chem Biol 13, 91–98 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.2239

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