Hydrogen Gas Protects Newborn Kidneys from Birth Asphyxia Damage
- Authors
- Takuma Iwaki, Shinji Nakamura, Takayuki Wakabayashi, Yasuhiro Nakao, Yinmon Htun, Toui Tsuchiya, Tsutomu Mitsuie, Kosuke Koyano, Aya Morimoto, Noriko Fuke, Yokota Takayuki, Sonoko Kondo, Yukihiko Konishi, Takanori Miki, Masaki Ueno, Takashi Masaki, Takashi Kusaka
- Journal
- Nature Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-025-85231-8
- Study Type
- Pig
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Acute Kidney Injury
- Body System
- Renal
TL;DR
Inhaling hydrogen gas helped to reduce kidney damage in piglets that experienced a lack of oxygen and blood flow.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhalation prevented kidney tissue damage in newborn piglets after oxygen deprivation, reducing abnormal enlargement of kidney filtering structures and tubule narrowing that occurred in untreated injured animals.
Summary
This study tested whether hydrogen gas could protect kidney tissue in newborn piglets that had experienced oxygen deprivation (a condition called hypoxic-ischemic injury). Researchers compared three groups: piglets with no injury, piglets with injury alone, and piglets with injury that received hydrogen gas inhalation for 24 hours. Five days after the injury, piglets that received hydrogen gas showed significantly less kidney damage—specifically, their kidney filtering structures (glomeruli) and tubules looked similar to healthy controls, while injured piglets without hydrogen gas treatment showed enlarged filtering structures and narrowed tubules.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study in piglets, not humans, so its relevance to human neonates remains unknown. While the results suggest hydrogen gas may have protective effects on kidney tissue after oxygen deprivation, much more research—including human trials—would be needed before any clinical application. The findings are interesting for researchers but should not be considered evidence that hydrogen gas is an effective treatment for kidney injury in newborns at this time.
Abstract
Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been reported to occur in 30-70% of asphyxiated neonates. Hydrogen (H2) gas became a major research focus in neonatal medicine after the identification of its robust antioxidative properties. However, the ability of H2 gas to ameliorate AKI is unknown. We examined histopathological injuries in the piglet renal cortex on day 5 after a hypoxic-ischemic (HI) insult and if H2 gas can alleviate kidney injuries. Twenty piglets were divided into three groups: no insult (Control, n = 6), HI insult alone (HI, n = 8), and HI insult with H2 gas ventilation (HI-H2, 2.1-2.7% for 24 h, n = 6). The total glomerular cell count was significantly higher in the HI group than in the other groups, with no difference between the HI-H2 and control groups. Proximal tubular lumen narrowing was significantly increased in the HI group versus control, but not in the HI-H2 group. In this piglet model, glomerular enlargement with an increase in glomerular cell number due to tubular lumen narrowing was observed on day 5 after HI insult. H2 gas effectively suppressed this glomerular cell increase and tubular lumen narrowing.