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Dynamic Changes of Heme Oxygenase-1 in the Hippocampus of Rats After Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

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Abstract

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an inducible enzyme, degrades heme to carbon monoxide (CO), iron, and bilirubin. We have investigated the relationship among HO-1 protein expression, HO activity, and CO concentrations in the hippocampus of CO-exposed rats. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry revealed that the enzyme is predominantly localized in hippocampal CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cells and in granule cells of the dentate gyrus. HO enzyme activity was reduced immediately following CO exposure, while expression of HO-1 protein was consistently upregulated in a time-dependent manner. Local CO concentrations in hippocampus rose immediately following exposure, but the elevation was maintained for ~20 h despite the decline in blood carboxyhemoglobin levels toward baseline. We suggest that CO initially inhibits HO enzyme activity, whereas at later time points the inhibition is released and local CO generation is maintained by the activity of the endogenous HO enzyme. And the noninducible form of heme oxygenase, HO-2, was not altered following CO administration. Together these results indicate that the HO/CO pathway in the rat hippocampus is induced by acute CO exposure; local CO production may play a regulatory role in brain injury following CO poisoning.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank International Science Editing for English-language edit. And we are grateful for the guidance of Professor ChaoShu Tang (Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing). This work was supported by a grant from the Doctoral Fund for New Scholars of the Education of Ministry of China (Grant No. 200800011047) and the Seed Fund for Scientific Research of Peking University Third Hospital (Grant No. YZZ08-2Jia-03).

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  1. Research Center of Occupational Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 North Garden Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100191, People’s Republic of China

    Li Guan, Yan-Lin Zhang, Tao Wen, Xi-Fu Wang, Ming-Xia Zhu & Jin-Yuan Zhao

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  1. Li Guan
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  2. Yan-Lin Zhang
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  3. Tao Wen
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  5. Ming-Xia Zhu
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Correspondence to Jin-Yuan Zhao.

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Guan, L., Zhang, YL., Wen, T. et al. Dynamic Changes of Heme Oxygenase-1 in the Hippocampus of Rats After Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 60, 165–172 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9524-3

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