The Role of Protein Kinases in the Management of Oncological Diseases by Acting on Ferroptotic Pathways

Ferroptosis is a recently discovered form of cell death, driven by membrane lipid peroxidation with the contribution of intracellular iron. In recent years, many researchers have discovered the involvement of ferroptotic mechanisms in the etiology of various diseases, including several forms of cancer. Different points in the ferroptotic pathway can be crucial for arising or sustained pathologies, given the contribution of numerous molecular mechanisms concerning membrane channels, several proteins, enzymes, and also kinases. The latter, in particular, seems to be very important in the control of ferroptosis in different manners depending on the pathology. Therefore, many articles in recent years have described how the pathways that involve kinases can determine, control, or alter the physiological ferroptotic contribution. Interestingly, in a tumoral context, oncogenes and tumor suppressor activity affect the correct ferroptotic process directly or indirectly promoted by abnormal kinase activity. Expanding the understanding of how kinases contribute to tumorigenesis by altering ferroptosis mechanisms may provide important insights to improve current anticancer therapies. Furthermore, new data have indicated how kinase-dependent ferroptotic activity may influence the efficacy of immunotherapy. Since one of the major obstacles to this promising anticancer therapy concerns the resistance induced by cancer cells, finding new targets, such as kinases, to improve ferroptosis in tumor cells could open an intriguing door to enhancing immunotherapy and overcoming the current obstacle.