Hydrogen Water Protects Against Lung Transplant Rejection in Mice
- Authors
- Naoki Ozeki, Aika Yamawaki-Ogata, Yuji Narita, Shinji Mii, Kaori Ushida, Mikako Ito, Shin-Ichi Hirano, Ryosuke Kurokawa, Kinji Ohno, Akihiko Usui
- Journal
- General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11748-019-01195-3
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Drinking water saturated with hydrogen gas may help prevent a serious lung complication after a lung transplant by reducing inflammation and oxidative damage.
Key Finding
Hydrogen water decreased airway blockage and reduced pro-inflammatory markers in transplanted mouse lungs, suggesting it may help prevent a common post-transplant complication called bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-enriched water could help prevent a serious lung complication that develops after transplant surgery. In transplanted mouse lungs, they found that hydrogen water reduced airway blockage and lowered inflammation markers compared to regular water, suggesting it may work by reducing harmful oxidative stress and boosting immune cells that calm inflammation.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage mouse study with no human testing yet. While the results are encouraging for potential lung transplant applications, it's too soon to draw conclusions about whether hydrogen water would help transplant patients. Much more research, including human trials, would be needed before any clinical recommendations could be made.
Abstract
Objective: Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome arising from chronic airway inflammation is a leading cause of death following lung transplantation. Several studies have suggested that inhaled hydrogen can protect lung grafts from ischemia-reperfusion injury via anti-inflammatory and -oxidative mechanisms. We investigated whether molecular hydrogen-saturated water can preserve lung allograft function in a heterotopic tracheal allograft mouse model of obliterative airway disease METHODS: Obliterative airway disease was induced by heterotopically transplanting tracheal allografts from BALB/c donor mice into C57BL/6 recipient mice, which were subsequently administered hydrogen water (10 ppm) or tap water (control group) (n = 6 each) daily without any immunosuppressive treatment. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on days 7, 14, and 21. Results: Hydrogen water decreased airway occlusion on day 14. No significant histological differences were observed on days 7 or 21. The cluster of differentiation 4/cluster of differentiation 3 ratio in tracheal allografts on day 14 was higher in the hydrogen water group than in control mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay performed on day 7 revealed that hydrogen water reduced the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and increased that of forkhead box P3 transcription factor, suggesting an enhancement of regulatory T cell activity. Conclusions: Hydrogen water suppressed the development of mid-term obliterative airway disease in a mouse tracheal allograft model via anti-oxidant and -inflammatory mechanisms and through the activation of Tregs. Thus, hydrogen water is a potential treatment strategy for BOS that can improve the outcome of lung transplant patients.