Hydrogen-supplemented drinking water protects cardiac allografts from inflammation-associated deterioration

Abstract

Summary Recent evidence suggests that molecular hydrogen has therapeutic value for disease states that involve inflammation. We hypothesized that drinking hydrogen‐rich water (HW) daily would protect cardiac and aortic allograft recipients from inflammation‐associated deterioration. Heterotopic heart transplantation with short‐course tacrolimus immunosuppression and orthotopic aortic transplantation were performed in allogeneic rat strains. HW was generated either by bubbling hydrogen gas through tap water (Bu‐HW) or via chemical reaction using a magnesium stick [Mg + 2H2O → Mg (OH)2 + H2] immersed in tap water (Mg‐HW). Recipients were given either regular water (RW), Mg‐HW, Bu‐HW, or Mg‐HW that had been subsequently degassed (DW). Graft survival was assessed by daily palpation for a heartbeat. Drinking Mg‐HW or Bu‐HW was remarkably effective in prolonging heart graft survival and reducing intimal hyperplasia in transplanted aortas as compared with grafts treated with RW or DW. Furthermore, T cell proliferation was significantly inhibited in the presence of hydrogen in vitro, accompanied by less production of interleukin‐2 and interferon‐γ. Hydrogen treatment was also associated with increased graft ATP levels and increased activity of the enzymes in mitochondrial respiratory chain. Drinking HW prolongs survival of cardiac allografts and reduces intimal hyperplasia of aortic allografts.

Molecular Hydrogen Suppresses Reactive Astrogliosis Related to Oxidative Injury during Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

“…Pure astrocytes (1 × 10 5 /cm 2 ) were divided into four groups: 1) control, cultured with normal medium (NM); 2) HM, cultured with hydrogen‐rich medium (HM); 3) NM + H 2 O 2 , cultured with NM containing 100 μM H 2 O 2 (Sigma) and 15 μM FeCl 2 (Sigma); 4) HM + H 2 O 2 , cultured with HM containing 100 μM H 2 O 2 and 15 μM FeCl 2 after pretreatment of HM for 1 h. The oxidative injury of astrocytes was induced by H 2 O 2 , which can not only permeate cell membranes, but also induce remarkable production of HO• with the existence of ferrous ions (called Feton action). The respective media were changed every 6 h to maintain the concentration of hydrogen at 0.6 mM . Treatments were carried out for 12 h, and then the supernatant or cells were collected for different assays.…”

Protective role of hydrogen-rich water on aspirin-induced gastric mucosal damage in rats

“…Oral intake of HRW is an effective and convenient way to deliver the molecular hydrogen, which is more suitable for application. Some researches showed that oral intake of HRW could protect cardiac allografts from inflammation-associated deterioration, kidney allografts from chronic rejection and so on [27][28][29] . Although the research of hydrogen as a medical therapy has been extensively investigated, its effect on the aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury has not been reported.…”

Influence of hydrogen-occluding-silica on migration and apoptosis in human esophageal cells in vitro

“…Since then, many basic studies have demonstrated that H 2 has a role as a novel antioxidant, and it is widely used for preventing and treating various diseases 456. The studies suggest that whether using inhaled H 2 gas or oral H 2 water, H 2 is still an effective method for scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) 378…”