Synthesis and Biological Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S): Development of H2S-Releasing Drugs as Pharmaceuticals

Gaseous transmitters are a growing family of regulatory molecules involved in multilevel regulation of physiological and pathological functions in mammalian tissues. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is best known for its characteristic smell of rotten eggs. It is now widely recognized that H2S, along with nitric oxide (NO) and carbonmonoxide (CO), is involved in a multitude of physiological functions. The generation of H2S bymammalian tissues is likely to occur in a slow and constant rate, and it appears to be involved in several processes including neuromodulation, hypertension, inflammation, edema, hemorrhagic shock, pain perception, gastric mucosal integrity, and vascular tone. This Perspective has been designed in order to give to the reader an updated overview on the physiology and biochemistry of H2S. In particular we have summarized the effects of H2S inhibitors and H2S donors in animal models of disease ordered for apparatus. Finally there is a section that addresses the potential for therapeutic exploitation ofH2S and provides an update on the patents so far filed.