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Review
. 2017:2017:9326454.
doi: 10.1155/2017/9326454. Epub 2017 Feb 13.

Aspects of Carbon Monoxide in Form of CO-Releasing Molecules Used in Cancer Treatment: More Light on the Way

Malamati Kourti  1 , Wen G Jiang  1 , Jun Cai  1
Affiliations
Review

Aspects of Carbon Monoxide in Form of CO-Releasing Molecules Used in Cancer Treatment: More Light on the Way

Malamati Kourti et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017.

Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) has always been recognised as a toxic gas, due to its higher affinity for haemoglobin than oxygen. However, biological studies have revealed an intriguing role for CO as an endogenous signalling molecule, a gasotransmitter. CO is demonstrated to exert many cellular activities including anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antiproliferative activities. In animal studies, CO gas administration can prevent tissues from hypoxia or ischemic-reperfusion injury. As a result, there are a plethora of reports dealing with the biological applications of CO and CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) in inflammatory and vascular diseases. CORMs have already been tested as a therapeutic agent in clinical trials. More recently, an increased interest has been drawn to CO's potential use as an anticancer agent. In this review, we will aim to give an overview of the research focused on the role of CO and CORMs in different types of cancer and expand to the recent development of the next generation CORMs for clinical application in cancer treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Oxidative conversion of heme. This figure depicts a summary of the formation of endogenous CO, carried out by a family of enzymes known as haem oxygenases (HOs), found as three isoforms: HO-1, HO-2, and HO-3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structures of classic and novel CORMs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structures of novel CORMs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Structures of first-generation and novel CORMs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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