Hydrogen Gas Boosts Stem Cell Survival After Freezing
- Authors
- Koji Kimura, Yasuhiko Tabata
- Journal
- Regenerative Therapy
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.reth.2024.08.004
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Cellular Damage
- Body System
- Cellular
TL;DR
Adding hydrogen gas to the preservation solution improves the survival and growth of human stem cells after they are thawed from being frozen.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas during cryopreservation significantly improved the survival, growth, and metabolic function of human adipose-derived stem cells after thawing, primarily by reducing oxidative stress.
Summary
This laboratory study tested whether hydrogen gas could help human fat-derived stem cells survive the freezing and thawing process better. Researchers froze cells with and without hydrogen gas present, then thawed them and measured how well they recovered. Cells frozen with hydrogen gas showed better survival, grew faster, and had less cellular damage from oxidative stress (a type of chemical damage) compared to cells frozen without it.
Practical Takeaway
While this is an early-stage laboratory study in cells (not humans), it suggests hydrogen gas may have potential applications in preserving stem cells for medical treatments. However, much more research is needed to determine if these benefits would apply to actual clinical use, and this study tells us nothing about hydrogen water consumption for general health.
Abstract
The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of hydrogen gas on the biological functions of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSC) in cryopreservation. hADSC were cryopreserved by a commercial cell preservation solution in the presence of hydrogen gas. After cryopreservation at -80 °C, the viability, initial attachment morphology, and biological parameters of cells cryopreserved were evaluated to compare with those of cells cryopreserved in the absence of hydrogen gas. The hydrogen concentration in the cell preservation solution was 2.0 ppm immediately after preparation and after that decreased with time. The presence of hydrogen gas permitted cells to significantly increase the proliferation of cells in addition to the percent initial adhesion. The number of cells in the spread state was significantly high compared with that of hydrogen gas-free cryopreserved cells. The cell cycle measurement with the flow cytometry and measurement of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were performed to demonstrate an enhanced cell cycle and a decreased ROS production. In the cell cycle assay, the percentage of cells in the mitotic phase increased. The presence of hydrogen gas decreased hydroxyl radicals immediately to a significantly great extent after thawing. It is concluded that the presence of hydrogen gas during cryopreservation is promising to improve the biological behavior of cells after cell thawing in terms of cells viability, proliferation or metabolic activity.