Hydrogen Water Protects Against Radiation Damage to Intestines
- Authors
- Xiaochen Qiu, Kaisheng Dong, Jingzhi Guan, JianMiao He
- Journal
- International Immunopharmacology
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106517
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Radiation-Induced Gastrointestinal Syndrome
- Body System
- Gastrointestinal
TL;DR
Hydrogen treatment can significantly protect the small intestine from damage caused by radiation.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich saline significantly reduced radiation-induced intestinal damage, improved intestinal function, and increased survival rates in mice, while also reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory responses.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen could protect the small intestine from damage caused by radiation therapy. Using mice and laboratory intestinal cells, they found that hydrogen-rich saline reduced intestinal damage, improved intestinal function, increased survival rates, and decreased harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species that radiation produces. The protective effect appeared to work by preventing cells from dying through a specific cellular pathway.
Practical Takeaway
This animal study suggests hydrogen may help protect intestinal tissue from radiation damage, but it is early-stage research conducted only in mice and cell cultures—not humans. Anyone undergoing radiotherapy should discuss any potential protective strategies with their oncologist rather than self-treating, as the clinical relevance of these findings remains to be established in human trials.
Abstract
The small intestine is known to be particularly sensitive to radiation, and the major limiting factor of radiotherapy is the gastrointestinal syndrome that subsequently develops after its administration. The detrimental effects of radiation are mostly mediated via the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially the hydroxyl radical (·OH). Because hydrogen is a selective ·OH scavenger, we hypothesized that hydrogen might exert a protective effect against radiation-induced intestinal damage. Herein, radiation models were built both in mice and in an intestinal crypt epithelial cell (IEC-6) line. In the animal experiment, we demonstrated that hydrogen-rich saline significantly reduced radiation-induced intestinal mucosal damage, improved intestinal function, and increased the survival rate. In addition, radiation-induced oxidative stress damage and systemic inflammatory response were also mitigated by hydrogen treatment. Moreover, hydrogen treatment decreased cell apoptosis and maintained intestinal epithelial cell proliferation in mice. In vitro experiments using the IEC-6 cell line showed that hydrogen-rich medium significantly inhibited ROS formation, maintained cell viability, and inhibited cell apoptosis. Importantly, hydrogen treatment prevented mitochondrial depolarization, cytochrome c release, and activity of caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP. Moreover, the decreased expression of Bcl-xl and Bcl-2 and the increased expression of Bax protein were also blocked by hydrogen treatment. In conclusion, our study concurrently demonstrated that hydrogen provides an obviously protective effect on radiation-induced intestinal and cell injuries. Our work demonstrated that this protective effect might be due to the blockage of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.