TMEM44 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Next, we added the ferroptosis inducer erastin to treat ESCC cells, and found that knocking down TMEM44-AS1 resulted in increased levels of ferroptosis in ESCC cells, including increased levels of lipid ROS, reduced levels of cellular mitochondrial membrane potential, increased levels of MDA and depletion of GSH (Fig. 4B–E).