A Tracer Analysis Study on the Redistribution and Oxidization of Endogenous Carbon Monoxide in the Human Body

Abstract

Past studies have suggested that some carbon monoxide (CO) moves from blood haemoglobin to tissue cells and that mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase oxidizes CO to carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, no study has demonstrated this redistribution and oxidization of CO under physiological conditions. The objective of this study was to trace the redistribution and oxidization of CO in the human body by detecting ¹³CO₂ production after the inhalation of ¹³CO. In Experiment 1, we asked a healthy subject to inhale 50 ppm ¹³CO gas. In Experiment 2, we circulated heparinized human blood in a cardio-pulmonary bypass circuit and supplied 50 ppm ¹³CO gas to the oxygenator. We sequentially sampled exhaled and output gases and measured the ¹³CO₂/¹²CO₂ ratios. In Experiment 1, the exhaled ¹³CO₂/¹²CO₂ ratio increased significantly between 4 to 31 h of ¹³CO inhalation. In Experiment 2, the output ¹³CO₂/¹²CO₂ ratio showed no significant increase within 36 h of ¹³CO input. Experiment 1 demonstrated the oxidization of CO in the human body under physiological conditions. Experiment 2 confirmed that oxidization does not occur in the circulating blood and indicated the redistribution of CO from blood carboxyhaemoglobin to tissue cells.