Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus in 2019 (SARS-CoV-2), many studies have been performed to better understand the basic mechanisms and clinical features of the disease. However, uncertainties of the underlying mechanisms of multiple organ involvement remain. A substantial proportion of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have lymphopenia, low serum iron levels, and multiple organ involvement. Several therapeutic agents have been used for different stages of the disease, but the treatment for severe disease is still suboptimal. Understanding the mechanism of programmed cell death in COVID-19 may lead to better therapeutic strategies for these patients. On the basis of observations of basic science studies and clinical researches on COVID-19, we hypothesize that ferroptosis, a novel programmed cell death, may be an important cause of multiple organ involvement in COVID-19 and it might serve as a new treatment target. In spite of the existing findings on the involvement of ferroptosis in SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is no reported study to uncover how does ferroptosis acts in SARS-CoV-2 infection yet. Uncovering the role of ferroptosis in SARS-CoV-2 infection is essential to develop new treatment strategies for COVID-19. Intracellular cell iron depletion or new generation of ferroptosis inhibitors might be potential drug candidates for COVID-19. We hope this hypothesis may launch a new wave of studies to uncover the association of ferroptosis and SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in vivo.

自2019年新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）爆发以来，为了更好地了解该疾病的基本机制和临床特征，开展了许多研究。然而，多器官受累的潜在机制仍然存在不确定性。相当一部分 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 重症患者患有淋巴细胞减少、血清铁水平低和多器官受累。多种治疗药物已用于治疗该疾病的不同阶段，但对严重疾病的治疗仍然不够理想。了解 COVID-19 中程序性细胞死亡的机制可能会为这些患者带来更好的治疗策略。基于对COVID-19基础科学研究和临床研究的观察，我们推测铁死亡这种新型程序性细胞死亡可能是导致COVID-19多器官受累的重要原因，并可能作为新的治疗靶点。尽管现有关于铁死亡参与 SARS-CoV-2 感染的研究结果，但尚未有研究报道揭示铁死亡如何在 SARS-CoV-2 感染中发挥作用。揭示铁死亡在 SARS-CoV-2 感染中的作用对于制定新的 COVID-19 治疗策略至关重要。细胞内细胞铁耗竭或新一代铁死亡抑制剂可能是 COVID-19 的潜在候选药物。我们希望这一假设能够引发新一波的研究，以揭示铁死亡与体外和体内 SARS-CoV-2 感染之间的关联。