Oxidized phospholipids in ferroptosis, immunity and inflammation

Oxidized phospholipids (oxPL) are generated by enzymatic or non-enzymatic reactions and play diverse roles in immunity and inflammation. OxPL are elevated in tissues from many human diseases and are now recognized as endogenous damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that alert the immune system to challenge. Early studies focused on the role(s) of non-enzymatically-formed oxPCs in cardiovascular disease, while more recently, the controlled generation of enzymatically-oxidized PL (eoxPL) in blood cells and their participation in physiological hemostasis has been delineated. In the last decade, there has been an explosion of research into their formation and roles in ferroptosis, a form of cell death driven by iron and lipid oxidation. This mini review aims to bring the reader up to date with recent work in this area, focused on discoveries over the last few years that firmly extend our knowledge of the roles of oxPL as mediators of ferroptosis, innate and adaptive immunity.