Carbon monoxide protects primary mouse hepatocytes from induced apoptosis by activating the nitric oxide pathway

Background and Aims: The anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-apoptotic enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) cleaves free heme by producing iron, biliverdin and carbon monoxide (CO). The anti-apoptotic effect of HO-1 has been attributed to its product CO, but the mechanism is not yet clear. Since HO-1 is over-expressed in many types of cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we hypothesize that the HO-1 product CO provides survival advantages in cancer cells by preventing apoptosis. Therefore, the aim of our investigations is to identify and specifically inhibit CO-dependent anti-apoptotic signalling pathw…