ABSTRACT
Recently, the diverse physiologic actions of nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulœde (H2S) and their roles in different diseases have attracted a great deal of interest. Although initially viewed as toxic substances, NO, CO, and H2S are now recognized as important signaling molecules acting in a variety of functional capacities in autocrine, paracrine, or juxtacrine fashions. All three gases have been proposed to play a role in inammation [1-3]. However, the mechanisms whereby these gases exert pro-inammatory and anti-inammatory effects are not simple and are still largely unknown. Unlike NO and CO, the part played by H2S in inammation has yet to be thoroughly investigated, and this yielded rather controversial data with respect to the pro-inammatory or anti-inammatory properties of H2S [1]. This chapter reviews the current literature on the therapeutic potential of H2S, with a special focus on its regulation of inammation. We begin this chapter by pointing out basic concepts regarding synthesis and functions of H2S.
