Gaseous signaling molecules (GSM): evolution, biological role and involvement in the pathogenesis of diseases (literature review)

Abstract

Data, presented in this review, show that gaseous signaling molecules are a common biological system of bioregulators, which attribute to main kingdoms of life – animals, plants and bacteria. They confirm the similarity of their origin and developing by evolution. Gaseous signaling molecules (gasotransmitters) were first discovered and mostly researched in humans and mammals. Today are known gaseous signaling molecules such as: nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, polysulfides and sulfur dioxide. It is proved that there are more gaseous signaling molecules and more pathways and mechanisms of their production in bacteria than in mammals, so their importance in evolution of living organisms on the planet Earth has decreased. However, in the process of evolution, in connection with the development from simple unicellular organisms into complex, higher multicellular, the number of functional targets that were influenced by gaseous signaling molecules has increased, i.e. their role has been getting increasingly complicated. The endogenous gaseous signaling molecules, produced by bacteria, regulate their metabolism, protect them against antibiotics and promote their colonization in the host organism. So they play an important role in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases in humans and animals. On the other side, the endogenous gaseous signaling molecules of humans and animals have mostly the negative impact on bacteria’s development and increase the host’s resistance to infections. Published data prove the similarity of function and role in pathology of gaseous signaling molecules in invertebrates with those in higher (vertebrate) animals. In particular, this relates to the nervous system and to the role of gaseous signaling molecules in the formation of memory and behavior. The gaseous signaling molecules of non-mammal vertebrata – fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds – are especially similar to mammals and humans. Isolated tissues of brain, eyes and lungs of poikilothermic non-mammalian vertebrates (fishes, amphibians and reptiles) are used to study the possible role of gaseous signaling molecules in the pathogenesis of diseases affecting these organs in humans. Further researches of the evolution of gaseous signaling molecules by comparing them in living beings of different levels of development may be useful for exposure of new ways of application in medicine and adjacent fields. The study of their role in the pathogenesis of pathological processes increases the possibilities of treatment and prevention of diseases via utilization of gaseous signaling molecules, their donors, precursors, and inhibitors. Key words: gaseous signaling molecules, evolution, vertebrate, invertebrate, bacteria, biological action, role in pathology. For citation: Sukmansky OI. Gaseous signaling molecules (GSM): evolution, biological role and involvement in the pathogenesis of diseases (literature review). Journal of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. 2019;25(4):373–382