Thomas E Starzl Transplantation Institute, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2012 May;13(6):827-36. doi: 10.2174/138920112800399266.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible, chemically inert, colorless and odorless gas and is toxic at high concentrations due to its interference with oxygen delivery. However, CO is endogenously and physiologically generated in mammalian cells via the catabolism of heme in a rate-limiting step of heme oxygenase systems, and CO potently protects against cellular injury. CO relaxes blood vessels and exerts anti-thrombotic effects by inhibiting platelet aggregation and derepressing fibrinolysis. In addition, CO reduces ischemia/reperfusion injury and inflammatory responses. CO inhibits apoptosis of endothelial and epithelial cells and reduces proliferation of smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts and T lymphocytes. Thus, there is accumulating evidence to support the notion that CO treatment of transplant donors, organs, or recipients can prevent graft dysfunction due to rejection or ischemia/reperfusion injury. This invited review discusses recent advances and current knowledge pertaining to CO research in the field of transplantation. In addition, we will discuss the clinical applicability of CO as a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of transplant patients.
一氧化碳（CO）是一种无形、化学惰性、无色无味的气体，由于其干扰氧气输送，在高浓度下具有毒性。然而，CO 是哺乳动物细胞内源性和生理性产生的，通过血红素加氧酶系统中血红素分解代谢的限速步骤，并且 CO 能够有效地保护细胞免受损伤。CO 通过抑制血小板聚集和解除纤维蛋白溶解来松弛血管并发挥抗血栓作用。此外，CO 还可以减少缺血/再灌注损伤和炎症反应。CO 抑制内皮细胞和上皮细胞的凋亡，并减少平滑肌细胞、成纤维细胞和 T 淋巴细胞的增殖。因此，有越来越多的证据支持这样一种观点，即对移植供体、器官或受者进行 CO 治疗可以预防因排斥或缺血/再灌注损伤导致的移植物功能障碍。本邀请评论讨论了移植领域中 CO 研究的最新进展和现有知识。此外，我们还将讨论 CO 作为治疗移植患者有前途的治疗策略的临床适用性。
