Carbon monoxide infused foam shows potential as anti-inflammatory therapy
Using techniques borrowed from the culinary arts to control dosage and delivery, a new study demonstrates carbon monoxide-containing materials as a safe and effective therapy for inflammatory diseases.
Carbon monoxide is more commonly known as a colorless, odorless, and potentially deadly gas. But evidence from animal studies and clinical trials suggests that low doses of carbon monoxide might help treat inflammation in a variety of diseases. However, ensuring the safety of inhaled doses presents a major challenge to widespread use of this gas in patients.
That led a team of scientists from MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, University of Iowa, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to seek a different delivery method through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
"Just as molecular gastronomy has expanded the physical composition of foods, we used those same techniques to incorporate carbon monoxide into materials, such as foams, that can be safely delivered to the GI tract,” says James Byrne, MD, PhD, UI assistant professor of radiation oncology and biomedical engineering, and one of the lead authors on the study.
Byrne was previously a resident physician in the Mass General Brigham/Dana Farber Radiation Oncology Program and a research affiliate at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, where he worked with the study’s senior leaders, Giovanni Traverso and Leo Otterbein.
In the new study, the research team developed and tested carbon monoxide-containing materials in mice, rats, and pigs, and found that it showed benefits in three different inflammatory conditions without causing any dangerous side effects.
The technology developed by the researchers resembles a whipping siphon, a type of kitchen tool that uses pressurized gas to create whipped cream, foams, and infusions. By using a variety of edible food additives, the scientists created stable carbon monoxide-containing foams, gels, and solid materials, similar to Pop Rocks, that allow controlled release of the gas.
Delivering the foam rectally reduced inflammation of the colon in a model of inflammatory bowel disease, and reduced inflammation of the rectum caused by radiation treatment.
In addition to these localized effects, the researchers also showed that foam delivered to the rectum provided a beneficial effect at more distant sites, by reversing acute liver failure caused by acetaminophen overdose.
The findings were published June 29 in Science Translational Medicine.
The technology developed by the researchers resembles a whipping siphon, a type of kitchen tool that uses pressurized gas to create whipped cream, foams, and infusions. By using a variety of edible food additives, the scientists created stable carbon monoxide-containing foams, gels, and solid materials, similar to Pop Rocks, that allow controlled release of the gas. Although the foams were delivered rectally in the study, these substances could also be ingested orally.
Byrne notes that the ease of use of the foam makes it very amenable for clinical use, which should facilitate the next step of translating the therapy to patients.
“This was an incredibly collaborative project, with researchers from multiple disciplines and institutions working closely together to develop this innovative approach for delivering potentially therapeutic gases,” Byrne adds.
In addition to Byrne, the research team also included UI researchers Jianling Bi, Emily Witt, Dustin Bosch, Mitchell Coleman, and Douglas Spitz.