RESEARCH PAPER
Disulfidptosis in Neurodegenerative Diseases: From Redox Imbalance to Neuronal Dysfunction.
AI Summary
This review hypothesizes that disulfidptosis—a disulfide-stress-driven, cytoskeletal-collapse form of regulated cell death—may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's, but evidence is mainly indirect and lacks direct validation in neural systems.
Why It Matters
By linking redox imbalance, metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cytoskeletal collapse, the paper highlights a mechanistically plausible pathway that could reveal new therapeutic targets or biomarkers for Parkinson's if followed by experimental validation in relevant neuronal and glial models.
Abstract
Disulfidptosis is a recently identified form of regulated cell death driven by disulfide stress and cytoskeletal collapse under conditions of impaired reducing capacity. Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are characterized by oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic impairment, protein aggregation, and cytoskeletal instability-features that may provide a permissive intracellular context for disulfidptosis. However, its occurrence and pathological relevance in these disorders remain incompletely understood. In this review, we examine the potential involvement of disulfidptosis in neurodegenerative diseases from a disease-centered perspective. We emphasize that current evidence is largely indirect and based on mechanistic overlap rather than direct experimental validation in neural systems. Accordingly, we distinguish between direct evidence, indirect mechanistic support, and pathophysiological plausibility. We further discuss cell-type-specific susceptibility across neurons and glial cells, analyze its relationship with other cell death pathways, and consider potential therapeutic implications. Overall, disulfidptosis is best regarded as a context-dependent and emerging mechanism that may contribute to neuronal vulnerability under specific metabolic and redox constraints. Clarifying its disease relevance will be essential for determining its significance in neurodegeneration and its potential as a therapeutic target.