Abstract-Carbon monoxide (CO) is generated in living organisms during the degradation of heme by the enzyme heme oxygenase, which exists in constitutive (HO-2 and HO-3) and inducible (HO-1) isoforms. Carbon monoxide gas is known to dilate blood vessels in a manner similar to nitric oxide and has been recently shown to possess antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic properties. We report that a series of transition metal carbonyls, termed here carbon monoxide-releasing molecules (CO-RMs), liberate CO to elicit direct biological activities. Specifically, spectrophotometric and NMR analysis revealed that dimanganese decacarbonyl and tricarbonyldichlororuthenium (II) dimer release CO in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, CO-RMs caused sustained vasodilation in precontracted rat aortic rings, attenuated coronary vasoconstriction in hearts ex vivo, and significantly reduced acute hypertension in vivo. These vascular effects were mimicked by induction of HO-1 after treatment of animals with hemin, which increases endogenously generated CO. Thus, we have identified a novel class of compounds that are useful as prototypes for studying the bioactivity of CO. In the long term, transition metal carbonyls could be utilized for the therapeutic delivery of CO to alleviate vascular-and immuno-related dysfunctions. A lthough it has been known for a long time that carbon monoxide (CO) is generated in the human body, 1 only in recent years have scientists begun to explore the possible biological activities of this gaseous molecule. The main endogenous source of CO is heme oxygenase, which exists in constitutive (HO-2 and HO-3) and inducible (HO-1) isoforms; heme serves as substrate for HO-1 and HO-2 in the formation of CO, free ferrous iron, and biliverdin, the latter being rapidly converted to bilirubin by biliverdin reductase. 2 There is general consensus, supported by extensive published reports, that HO-1 represents a pivotal inducible defensive system against stressful stimuli, including UVA radiation, carcinogens, ischemia-reperfusion damage, endotoxic shock, and several other conditions characterized by production of oxygen-derived free radicals. [2][3][4] As part of its physiological and cytoprotective actions, heme oxygenase-derived CO appears to play a major role as neurotransmitter, 5-7 regulator of sinusoidal tone, 8 inhibitor of platelet aggregation, 9 and suppressor of acute hypertensive responses. 10,11 In addition, exogenously applied CO has been shown to protect against lung injury in vivo, 12,13 prevent both production of proinflammatory cytokines 14 and endothelial cell apoptosis, 15 and suppress graft rejection in mouse-to-rat cardiac transplants 16 ; all these effects are simulated by transfection of the HO-1 gene. Thus, consistent findings reveal a series of important cellular functions that support a versatile and previously unidentified role for CO. It is interesting that many of the novel properties pertaining to CO have strong analogies with the well-established biological activities elicited by nitri...