Decreased insulin secretion, associated with pancreatic β-cell failure, plays a critical role in many human diseases including diabetes,
obesity, and
cancer. While numerous studies linked β-cell failure with enhanced levels of
reactive oxygen species (ROS), the development of diabetes associated with hereditary conditions that result in
iron overload, e.g.,
hemochromatosis,
Friedreich's ataxia, and
Wolfram syndrome type 2 (WFS-T2; a mutation in CISD2, encoding the [2Fe-2S]
protein NAF-1), underscores an additional link between
iron metabolism and β-cell failure. Here, using NAF-1-repressed INS-1E pancreatic cells, we observed that NAF-1 repression inhibited insulin secretion, as well as impaired mitochondrial and ER structure and function. Importantly, we found that a combined treatment with the cell permeant
iron chelator deferiprone and the
glutathione precursor N-acetyl
cysteine promoted the structural repair of mitochondria and ER, decreased mitochondrial labile
iron and ROS levels, and restored
glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Additionally, treatment with the ferroptosis inhibitor
ferrostatin-1 decreased cellular ROS formation and improved cellular growth of NAF-1 repressed pancreatic cells. Our findings reveal that suppressed expression of NAF-1 is associated with the development of ferroptosis-like features in pancreatic cells, and that reducing the levels of mitochondrial
iron and ROS levels could be used as a therapeutic avenue for WFS-T2 patients.