Heme oxygenase (HMOX1) catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step in the degradation of heme to yield equimolar quantities of biliverdin Ixa, carbon monoxide (CO), and iron. It has 3 isoforms: HO-1 is highly inducible, whereas HO-2 and HO-3 are constitutively expressed (PMID:10194478). Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is expressed in many tissues and vascular smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells (PMID:15451051) and has been identified as an important endogenous protective factor induced in many cell types by various stimulants, such as hemolysis, infiammatory cytokines,oxidative stress, heat shock, heavy metals, and endotoxin (PMID: 11522663). And the full-length HO-1 is very unstable and susceptible to truncation that generates an inactive, soluble form (28 kDa).