Hydrogen Protects Cells from Heavy Metal Chromium Damage
- Authors
- Kangping Liu, Yukun Cui, Hongyan Li, Changxi Qi, Guodong Cheng, Xin Gao, Zhuanglong Zhang, Yongxia Liu, Jianzhu Liu
- Journal
- Biological Trace Element Research
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1007/s12011-021-02850-8
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Heavy Metal Toxicity
- Body System
- Cellular
TL;DR
Hydrogen-rich medium (HRM) can protect chicken cells from damage caused by the toxic metal chromium (Cr) by reducing stress and excessive self-digestion processes within the cells.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich medium reduced chromium-induced cell damage by inhibiting excessive autophagy and modulating endoplasmic reticulum stress in cultured chicken cells.
Summary
This laboratory study tested whether hydrogen-rich water could protect chicken cells from damage caused by chromium, a toxic heavy metal. Researchers found that hydrogen-rich medium reduced cell damage and prevented excessive autophagy (a cellular cleanup process that can become harmful when overactive), suggesting hydrogen may work by reducing stress in a part of the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage cell culture study with no human testing, so it cannot yet inform decisions about hydrogen water for health. While the results are promising for understanding how hydrogen might protect cells at the molecular level, much more research—including animal and human studies—would be needed before any therapeutic claims could be made about hydrogen water and heavy metal exposure.
Abstract
Related studies have shown that chromium (Cr) is toxic to cells, and hydrogen can protect cells by regulating endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy. However, there are few reports on the protective effects of hydrogen on heavy metal-induced cell damage. The objective of this study was to investigate the protection of hydrogen-rich medium (HRM) on Cr(VI)-induced ER stress and autophagy in DF-1 cells. Therefore, HRM were pretreated for 30 min before Cr(VI) treatment, and detected the autophagy and ER stress-related indicators to determine the role of HRM. The results showed that HRM could reduce the cell damage caused by Cr(VI), and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) could protect cells by inhibiting over autophagy. HRM can reverse the changes of ER stress- and autophagy-related indexes caused by Cr(VI), and inhibit the excessive autophagy caused by Cr(VI). In conclusion, HRM can protect cells from damage induced by Cr(VI), and play a role by inhibiting ER stress-mediated autophagy.