Induction of ferroptosis: a new strategy for the control of bacterial infections

The continued rise of drug-resistant bacterial infections heightens a threat of a pandemic of antimicrobial resistance to the global health. The urgency of infection control against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is evident. Ferroptosis, a newly defined form of iron-dependent cell death characterized by lipid peroxidation, has garnered substantial interest since this programmed cell death was associated with pathophysiological processes of many diseases. Exploring whether ferroptosis could be utilized in infectious diseases holds significant importance for discovering novel antimicrobial approaches. Recent years have witnessed significant progress with respect to elucidating the mechanisms that govern ferroptosis induction and its roles in bacterial pathogenesis and host–pathogen interactions. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of targeting ferroptosis and/or iron homeostasis for the control of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections. These implications may inform and enable effective therapeutic strategies against pathogen infection and provide novel insights into the potential applications of ferroptosis to address the global bacterial resistance crisis.