Ferrous lactate-loaded hydrogels induce iron-dependent non-canonical ferroptosis in Cutibacterium acnes: a novel therapeutic strategy for acne vulgaris
release, with efficacy comparable to conventional topical antibiotics. Mechanistically, FeLac (200 μM) treatment significantly increased intracellular iron levels, induced iron-dependent non-canonical ferroptosis, disrupted key pathways related to translation, biosynthesis, and cell wall integrity, and induced marked morphological alterations, achieving a bactericidal rate exceeding 99.9% after 3 h of treatment. These findings indicate that the FeLac-loaded hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel represents a promising non-antibiotic platform for treating acne and anaerobic bacterial infections via an iron-dependent ferroptosis-mediated pathway, demonstrating significant potential in dermatology and the cosmetics industry.
Authors
- Lishan Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6788-4953)
- Jintae Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1383-1682)
- Shurui Peng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6124-993X)
- Hongbo Li
- Liangbin Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0747-093X)
- Rui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4101-9301)
- Jiayi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6043-4941)
- Haizhen Mo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2509-1645)
- Min Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8044-6905)
- Wei Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5127-5709)
Institutions
- Henan Institute of Science and Technology (CN)
- Shaanxi University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Yeungnam University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Materials Today Bio
- Published
- 2026-05-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.103174
- Primary Topic
- Acne and Rosacea Treatments and Effects
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Key Research and Development Projects of Shaanxi Province