erastin erastin erastin is a small molecule capable of initiating ferroptotic cell death. erastin binds and activates voltage-dependent anion channels (vdac) by reversing tubulin's inhibition on vdac2 and vdac3, and functionally inhibits the cystine-glutamate antiporter system xc−. cells treated with erastin are deprived of cysteine and are unable to synthesize the antioxidant glutathione. depletion of glutathione eventually leads to excessive lipid peroxidation and cell death. erastinlegal statuslegal status experimental identifiers iupac name 2--1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-3-(2-ethoxyphenyl)-4(3h)-quinazolinone cas number571203-78-6pubchem cid11214940chemspider9390002keggc21478chemical and physical dataformulac30h31cln4o4molar mass547.05 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles o=c1n(c2=cc=cc=c2occ)c(c(c)n3ccn(c(coc4=cc=c(cl)c=c4)=o)cc3)=nc5=cc=cc=c51 inchi inchi=1s/c30h31cln4o4/c1-3-38-27-11-7-6-10-26(27)35-29(32-25-9-5-4-8-24(25)30(35)37)21(2)33-16-18-34(19-17-33)28(36)20-39-23-14-12-22(31)13-15-23/h4-15,21h,3,16-20h2,1-2h3key:bkqfrnyhfiqekn-uhfffaoysa-n erastin was first described in 2003. its name is short for "eradicator of ras and st-expressing cells".