Fatty acid desaturation controls cellular fate decisions between senescence and ferroptosis.

Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA, 20:3ω-6) is reduced in senescent cells, and restoring DGLA triggers ferroptosis-linked death rather than senescence.

• Why it matters: Cells under stress can enter ferroptosis or senescence, but the metabolic switch that biases this fate decision is unclear.
• What they did: The study measured PUFA import and membrane levels in senescent cells, found DGLA (20:3ω-6) specifically decreased, then tested exogenous DGLA repletion and assessed ferroptosis features.
• The result: DGLA repletion caused ferroptosis-associated cell death, and oral DGLA supplementation lowered senescence markers and improved age-related function in aged mice; obese humans with lower DGLA desaturation rates showed lower adipose senescence markers.

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