Resistance of Human Endometrium to Ferroptosis

Although iron is an essential nutrient, ferroptosis (cell death) occurs in response to excess iron. Iron-induced lipid peroxidation damages to cell membranes and leads to cell death. Menstruation, on the other hand, is a periodic expulsion of blood and detached endometrium (menstrual blood). Some of the endometrium remains after menstruation, exposed to high concentrations of blood-derived iron, however re-proliferates and undergoes decidualization, an essential differentiation for embryo implantation.