Investigating the Roles of Phospholipase A2s and Diacylglycerol Signaling in Ferroptosis

PROJECT NARRATIVE Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent, oxidative form of regulated cell death that is morphologically and biochemically distinct from other cell death pathways, and has been implicated in numerous cancer therapies and natural tumor suppression mechanisms. This proposal will utilize small molecule and lipid probes, genetic modulation techniques, lipidomic profiling and activation state assays to investigate the roles of lipid remodeling and lipid-responsive signaling pathways in mediating ferroptotic cell death. Building a more comprehensive model of the molecular networks involved in ferroptosis may uncover new avenues of research to exploit this cell death pathway for therapeutic benefit in cancer.