Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) suffer from intravascular hemolysis associated with
vascular injury and dysfunction. Painful vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) involving increased
attachment of sickle erythrocytes and activated leukocytes to damaged vascular
endothelium is a hallmark of SCD. Patrolling monocytes, which normally scavenge
damaged cells and debris from the vasculature, express higher levels of anti-inflammatory
heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), a heme degrading enzyme with anti-cytotoxic and anti …