Measurement of carbon monoxide: From bench to bedside

Abstract

Carbon monoxide is produced endogenously by the class of enzymes known collectively as heme oxygenase (HO) [1]. The inducible form of HO, HO-1, has been reported to have cytoprotective and anti-oxidant activities [1]. In addition, other studies have suggested that endogenously generated carbon monoxide has protective and beneficial effects on a vast array of responses against multiple organ injury, inflammation, apoptosis, cell proliferation, vasoconstriction and systemic and pulmonary hypertension [2-5]. The initial evidence supporting a beneficial action of carbon monoxide originated from studies on lung injury in animals [6] and was reproduced later in other tissues, including the heart, liver, kidney, intestine and the reticulo-endothelial system [2, 7]. © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.