Heme oxygenase (HO) cleaves the heme ring at the alpha-methene bridge to form bilverdin. This reaction forms the only endogenous source of carbon monoxide. HO-1 is inducible and is thought to have an antioxidant role as it's activated in virtually all cell types and by many types of "oxidative stress" (Poss and Tonegawa, 1997). HO-2 is non-inducible.