Carbon monoxide (CO)-based gas therapeutic; oral liquid CO formulation

Class

Carbon monoxide (CO)-based gas therapeutic; oral liquid CO formulation (Hillhurst's "GLASS" delivery platform)

Pathway

Endogenous carbon monoxide / heme oxygenase-1 anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective signaling

Notes

original target text: Carbon monoxide (CO)-based gas therapeutic; oral liquid CO formulation (Hillhurst's "GLASS" delivery platform)

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gaseous signaling molecule produced naturally in the body when the enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) breaks down heme, the iron-containing component of hemoglobin and other proteins. At the low concentrations generated physiologically, CO acts as a cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory messenger, influencing pathways that limit oxidative stress, dampen excessive immune activation, and support blood vessel tone and cell survival. This endogenous CO/HO-1 axis is upregulated by the body during injury and inflammation as a protective response, which has motivated efforts to deliver CO therapeutically to reinforce or substitute for this system when it is insufficient. Rather than inhaling CO gas directly, which is difficult to dose safely, engineered oral liquid formulations aim to deliver controlled, sub-toxic amounts of dissolved CO that raise blood carbon monoxide levels modestly and reproducibly. This approach is being explored across conditions marked by chronic inflammation, impaired tissue healing, or vascular dysfunction, including inflammatory bowel disease, certain hemoglobin disorders, and wound-healing indications, where mimicking the protective, endogenous CO signal is hypothesized to reduce tissue damage and promote recovery without the hazards associated with inhaled carbon monoxide exposure.