Table 1.

Comparison of the main features of different cell death.

Type	Apoptosis	Necroptosis	Pyroptosis	Ferroptosis
Morphological features	Cell membrane integrity, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromosomal DNA fragmentation	Cell swelling, nuclear chromatin concentration, nuclear fragmentation, plasma membrane bubbling and release of cellular contents	Cell swelling, plasma-membrane rupture, Chromatin condenses, nucleus remains intact, DNA random degradation	Lipid peroxides accumulation, mitochondrial membrane rupture and condense, mitochondria cristae loss
Initiators	Cell stress, radiation, DNA damage, growth factor withdrawal, mitotic defects, and hypoxia for intrinsic apoptosis; ligands of transmembrane receptor, such as TNFR1, FAS, DR4, and DR5 for extrinsic apoptosis	Ligands of TNFR1, FAS, TLR3, TLR4, and ZBP1 in the absence of active caspase-8	DAMPs and PAMPs	Uptake of cysteine is inhibited or the GPX4-dependent antioxidant is blocked