A paper published yesterday (Jan 19) in the journal Circulation shows that carbon monoxide (CO), as well as ALFAMA’s CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs), can be used to repair damage to blood vessels after injury caused by balloon angioplasty. The results reinforce the notion that CO-RMs may be a novel and powerful alternative to therapies for various types of cardiovascular disease. Specifically, CO and CO-RMs have been shown to prevent stenosis through a mechanism that involves the generation of nitric oxide (NO) and the recruitment of progenitor cells to accelerate endothelial cell proliferation and vessel repair. The specific CO-RM used in the experiments is one among hundreds such molecules that have been prepared by ALFAMA’s chemistry team over the last four years. The published work involved ALFAMA scientist Dave Gallo, as well as our collaborator B.Y. Chin. The senior author of the paper is Leo Otterbein, of Harvard Medical School and one of ALFAMA’s key advisors.