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Carbon Monoxide Protects Transplanted Kidneys In Rats
Jan 24, 2006 - 6:04:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr. Priya Saxena
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Although carbon monoxide is toxic at high concentrations, at low concentrations it appears to function as a signaling molecule that protects cells against bombardment by the inflammatory immune response.
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By University of Pittsburgh,
Carbon monoxide, a highly toxic gas often called the "silent killer," may prove useful for extending the life of transplanted organs, suggests a University of Pittsburgh study that found prolonged, low-dose exposure to be protective against chronic rejection in a rat kidney transplant model. Chronic rejection is the primary reason that patients require second or third transplant operations.
In the study, to be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology and available now as an online publication, the researchers report minimal signs of inflammation and tissue damage indicative of chronic rejection following kidney transplantation in rats housed for 30 days in cages with air consisting of 20 parts per million of carbon dioxide. In contrast, the kidneys transplanted into rats maintained in normal air conditions began to deteriorate almost immediately, and microscopic examination revealed progressive rejection. Both groups were given a six-day course of the anti-rejection drug tacrolimus.
Although carbon monoxide is toxic at high concentrations, at low concentrations it appears to function as a signaling molecule that protects cells against bombardment by the inflammatory immune response, says senior author Noriko Murase, M.D., associate professor of surgery at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The idea to study the effects of carbon monoxide in the transplant setting came from co-author Augustine Choi, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine, who is a leading expert on the effects of carbon monoxide. 
- American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology
www.upmc.edu
The University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences include the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Health. The schools serve as the academic partner to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Together, their combined mission is to train tomorrow's health care specialists and biomedical scientists, engage in groundbreaking research that will advance understanding of the causes and treatments of disease, and participate in the delivery of outstanding patient care. In fiscal year 2004, Pitt and its institutional affiliates ranked 7th nationally among educational institutions in grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Approximately 93 percent of this $396 million in NIH support went to the Schools of the Health Sciences and their affiliates.
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