Ferroptosis-driven coronary plaque vulnerability: A tandem mechanism involving endothelial cells, macrophages, and smooth muscle cells

Apr 4, 2026Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular basis of disease

How Cell Death Linked to Iron Makes Heart Artery Plaques More Likely to Cause Problems Through Effects on Lining, Immune, and Muscle Cells

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Abstract

Ferroptosis may contribute to plaque destabilization in coronary atherosclerotic heart disease.

In endothelial cells, ferroptosis is driven by oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, leading to barrier dysfunction and inflammatory activation.
Macrophages experience ferroptosis due to dysregulated iron metabolism and impaired autophagy, promoting inflammation and necrotic core expansion.
Vascular smooth muscle cells undergo ferroptosis, which diminishes their antioxidant capacity and weakens fibrous cap stability.
Crosstalk among plaque cell types may be facilitated by paracrine signaling and extracellular matrix remodeling.
A tandem/cascade model is proposed, indicating that ferroptotic stress may propagate across different cell types, enhancing plaque vulnerability.

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The formation and progression of vulnerable plaques constitute the pathological basis of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent non-apoptotic form of programmed cell death, has emerged as an important contributor to plaque destabilization. This review systematically summarizes the regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis in the three major plaque cell types-endothelial cells, macrophages, and vascular smooth muscle cells. In endothelial cells, ferroptosis is mainly driven by oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, promoting plaque initiation and progression through barrier dysfunction, inflammatory activation, and abnormal neovascularization. In macrophages, ferroptosis is closely linked to dysregulated iron metabolism, lipid uptake, and impaired autophagy, thereby enhancing pro-inflammatory polarization, damage-associated molecular pattern release, and necrotic core expansion. In vascular smooth muscle cells, ferroptosis is associated with phenotypic modulation, reduced antioxidant capacity, and iron accumulation, ultimately impairing extracellular matrix maintenance and weakening fibrous cap stability. In addition, paracrine signaling, gap junction-associated communication, and extracellular matrix remodeling may facilitate multicellular crosstalk among these plaque cell populations. Overall, this review proposes a tandem/cascade model in which ferroptotic stress is propagated and amplified across endothelial cells, macrophages, and smooth muscle cells, thereby promoting plaque vulnerability and suggesting stage- and cell-specific therapeutic opportunities.

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Ferroptosis-driven coronary plaque vulnerability: A tandem mechanism involving endothelial cells, macrophages, and smooth muscle cells

Abstract

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