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The heme-cytochrome P-450 complexes represent sensitive metabolic systems for examining the biological impact of metals on important cellular functions. Many metals, both in the inorganic form and bound to organic moieties, potently induce heme oxygenase, the rate limiting enzyme of heme degradation. The resulting increase in the rate of heme breakdown is reflected in a marked depression of cel...

HutZ, one of the crucial proteins of the iron uptake system in Vibrio cholerae, was purified, which binds to heme at a stoichiometry of 1 : 1. In the presence of ascorbic acid, the HutZ-bound heme degrades via the same intermediates observed in heme oxygenase, suggesting that HutZ works as a heme degradation enzyme.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gaseous second messenger produced when heme oxygenase enzymes catabolize heme. We have demonstrated that CO can be therapeutic in ischemia-reperfusion brain injury; however, it is unclear whether CO can also offer protection in permanent ischemic stroke or what mechanism(s) underlies the effect. Heme oxygenase-1 neuroprotection was shown to be re...

Previously, we showed that NO induces thymocyte apoptosis via a caspase-1-dependent mechanism [(1) ]. In the present study, we investigated the role of heme oxygenase, catalase, bax, and p53 in this process. The NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine (SNAP), induced DNA fragmentation in thymocytes in a time- and concentration-dependent way. SNAP (100 microM) induced 50--60% apoptosis; highe...

As aspects of basic science come to play an increasingly prominent role in clinical medicine, heme oxygenase-1 is one of several molecules emerging as a central player in diseases of the lung and intensive care unit. Although the apparent raison d’être of this enzyme is to dispose of heme, its activity results in cytoprotection against oxidative injury and cellular stresses. As the lung interfa...

In biological systems oxidation of heme is carried out by two isozymes of the microsomal heme oxygenase, HO-1 and HO-2. HO-1 is the commonly known heme oxygenase, the activity of which can be induced by up to 100-fold in response to a wide variety of stimuli (metals, heme, hormones, etc.). HO-2 was only recently discovered, and the isozyme appears to be uninducible. The two forms are products o...

Heme oxygenase catalyzes the metabolism of heme to biliverdin, free iron, and carbon monoxide (CO), which has been shown to be an important neuromodulatory agent. Recently, it has been demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce the enzyme heme oxygenase in glial cells. Therefore, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that central CO plays a role in LPS-induced fever. ...

OBJECTIVE Carbon monoxide (CO) is generated from vascular smooth muscle cells via the degradation of heme by the enzyme heme oxygenase-1. Since smooth muscle cell apoptosis is associated with numerous vascular disorders, we investigated whether CO regulates apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle. METHODS AND RESULTS Treatment of cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells with a combination of cytok...