Juggling with lipids, a game of Russian roulette

Lipid peroxidation (LPO) is the molecular mechanism involved in oxidative damage of cellular membranes and the hallmark of a nonapoptotic form of cell death, known as ferroptosis. This iron-dependent cell death is an emerging strategy in cancer treatment and one of the central cell death mechanisms accounting for early cell loss and organ dysfunction in both neurodegenerative disease and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Although the biological roles of LPO products have attracted considerable attention, not only for their pathological mechanisms but also for their potential clinical application as biomarkers, the existence of a common lethal lipid death signal generated during ferroptosis remains poorly explored. A better understanding of the LPO process, however, may unleash unprecedented opportunities for therapeutic intervention of as-yet incurable diseases.