Hydrogen Gas Blocks Lung Cancer Growth by Targeting Key Protein
- Authors
- Dongchang Wang, Lifei Wang, Yu Zhang, Yunxia Zhao, Gang Chen
- Journal
- Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
- Year
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.05.055
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Lung Cancer
- Body System
- Respiratory System
TL;DR
Hydrogen gas (H2) has been found to slow down the growth and spread of lung cancer cells and may offer a new treatment approach.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhibited lung cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion while promoting cancer cell death by reducing levels of the SMC3 protein and halting cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen gas could slow lung cancer growth by studying its effects on cancer cells in the laboratory and in mice. They found that hydrogen gas reduced cancer cell growth, stopped cells from spreading, and triggered cancer cell death by affecting a protein called SMC3 that controls how chromosomes are organized during cell division. In mice with lung cancer, hydrogen gas reduced tumor size, though not as effectively as the chemotherapy drug cisplatin.
Practical Takeaway
This is early laboratory and animal research showing hydrogen gas may have anti-cancer properties against lung cancer through a specific molecular mechanism. However, these findings are from cell cultures and mice, not humans, so it is far too early to draw conclusions about whether hydrogen gas could help treat lung cancer in people. Much more research, including human clinical trials, would be needed before any therapeutic claims could be made.
Abstract (excerpt)
Lung cancer is one of the most common lethal malignancies in the globe. The patients' prognoses are dim due to its high metastatic potential and drug resistance. Therefore, in the present study, we aim to find a more potent therapeutic approach for lung cancer. We mainly explored the function…