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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Methods to Evaluate Cytotoxicity and Immunosuppression of Combustible Tobacco Product Preparations
Published on: January 10, 2015
[Carbon monoxide: toxic molecule with antiinflammatory and cytoprotective properties]
P Schober1, A Koch, K Zacharowski
1Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf.
Abstract:
Carbon monoxide arises during incomplete combustion of organic material, is incorporated into the circulation via the lungs and displaces oxygen from hemoglobin. Consecutively, symptoms of intoxication such as headache, vertigo, nausea, seizures and coma may result in a dose dependent fashion. Carbon monoxide is however also generated endogenously during heme degradation catalysed by heme oxgenase enzymes. The isoform hemeoxygenase-1 is inducible by oxidative stress and may mediate cytoprotection mainly attributable to endogenously produced carbon monoxide. Exogenous applied carbon monoxide has also been shown to confer protection in experimental studies. Meanwhile, in addition to the toxicological properties, antiinflammatory and cytoprotective effects of carbon monoxide have moved into the focus of scientific interest.
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