title: The social network of carbon monoxide in medicine.
abstract: Networking between cells is critical for proper functioning of the cellular milieu and is mediated by cascades of highly regulated and overlapping signaling molecules. The enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) generates three separate signaling molecules through the catalysis of heme - carbon monoxide (CO), biliverdin, and iron - each of which acts via distinct molecular targets to influence cell function, both proximally and distally. This review focuses on state-of-the art developments and insights into the impact of HO-1 and CO on the innate immune response, the effects of which are responsible for an ensemble of functions that help regulate complex immunological responses to bacterial sepsis and ischemia/reperfusion injury. HO-1 exemplifies an evolutionarily conserved system necessary for the cellular milieu to adapt appropriately, function properly, and ensure survival of the organism.
authors.affiliation: Transplant Institute, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wegiel
authors.forename: Douglas W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Hanto
authors.forename: Leo E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Otterbein
mesh_terms: D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018805:Sepsis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1