Breathing Hydrogen Gas Reduces Lung Damage After Chest Injury in Mice
- Authors
- Kohei Ageta, Takahiro Hirayama, Toshiyuki Aokage, Mizuki Seya, Ying Meng, Tsuyoshi Nojima, Hirotsugu Yamamoto, Takafumi Obara, Atsunori Nakao, Tetsuya Yumoto, Tsukahara Kohei, Hiromichi Naito
- Journal
- Surgery
- Year
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.surg.2023.04.029
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Lung Contusion
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas can significantly reduce lung inflammation and damage caused by blunt chest trauma in mice.
Key Finding
Mice that inhaled 1.3% hydrogen gas after blunt chest trauma showed significantly reduced lung inflammation, less tissue damage, and improved oxygenation compared to mice that breathed regular air.
Summary
Researchers used mice to test whether breathing hydrogen gas could help reduce lung damage from blunt chest trauma. Mice that breathed a mixture containing 1.3% hydrogen gas after a chest injury showed less bleeding, swelling, and inflammation in their lungs compared to mice that breathed regular air, and they also had better oxygen levels in their blood.
Practical Takeaway
This early evidence from mouse studies suggests that hydrogen gas inhalation may help reduce inflammatory damage from chest trauma, but this is preliminary research in animals only. Much more work—including human studies—would be needed before hydrogen inhalation could be considered a treatment for lung injuries in people.
Abstract
Background: Lung contusion caused by blunt chest trauma evokes a severe inflammatory reaction in the pulmonary parenchyma that may be associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Although hydrogen gas has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and is protective against multiple types of lung injury at safe concentrations, the effects of inhaled hydrogen gas on blunt lung injury have not been previously investigated. Therefore, using a mouse model, we tested the hypothesis that hydrogen inhalation after chest trauma would reduce pulmonary inflammation and acute lung injury associated with lung contusion. Methods: Inbred male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham with air inhalation, lung contusion with air inhalation, and lung contusion with 1.3% hydrogen inhalation. Experimental lung contusion was induced using a highly reproducible and standardized apparatus. Immediately after induction of lung contusion, mice were placed in a chamber exposed to 1.3% hydrogen gas in the air. Histopathological analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction in lung tissue and blood gas analysis were performed 6 hours after contusion. Results: Histopathological examination of the lung tissue after contusion revealed perivascular/intra-alveolar hemorrhage, perivascular/interstitial leukocyte infiltration, and interstitial/intra-alveolar edema. These histological changes and the extent of lung contusion, as determined by computed tomography, were significantly mitigated by hydrogen inhalation. Hydrogen inhalation also significantly reduced inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNA levels and improved oxygenation. Conclusion: Hydrogen inhalation therapy significantly mitigated inflammatory responses associated with lung contusion in mice. Hydrogen inhalation therapy may be a supplemental therapeutic strategy for treating lung contusion.