Hydrogen Gas Protects Liver from Sleep Apnea-Related Damage in Rats
- Authors
- S.C. Yang, L.L. Chen, T. Fu, W.Y. Li, En-Sheng Ji
- Journal
- Journal of Applied Physiology
- Year
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.12047/j.cjap.5484.2018.016
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Neutral
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Sleep Apnea
- Body System
- Hepatic
TL;DR
Breathing hydrogen gas before experiencing low oxygen conditions can help reduce liver damage and stress in rats.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas pre-treatment significantly reduced liver damage and oxidative stress markers in rats exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia, while increasing protective antioxidant enzyme levels.
Summary
This study tested whether hydrogen gas could protect rat livers from damage caused by chronic intermittent hypoxia (a condition where oxygen levels drop repeatedly, similar to sleep apnea). Rats exposed to low-oxygen conditions for 5 weeks showed liver damage and signs of oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules). When rats received hydrogen gas treatment before the low-oxygen exposure, their liver damage was reduced, their antioxidant defenses improved, and inflammatory markers decreased.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen gas may help protect liver cells from damage related to low-oxygen conditions. However, this was tested only in rats, not humans, and used a specific treatment protocol (67% hydrogen gas for 1 hour before hypoxia exposure). Much more research would be needed to determine if similar benefits apply to people with sleep apnea or other chronic low-oxygen conditions.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:To explore the effects of hydrogen on liver injury in chronic intermittent hypoxia rats and the related oxidative stress mechanism. METHODS:Twenty-four male adult SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups(n=8):the normoxia group (Norm), the chronic intermittent hypoxia group (CIH), the chronic intermittent hypoxia and hydrogen group (H2 + CIH). Rats in Norm group were exposed in air, those in the other 2 groups suffered from chronic intermittent hypoxia conditions for 5 weeks. Before the CIH treatment, rats in H2+CIH group inhaled hydrogen gas at 67% concentration for 1 hour. The serum biochemical indicators of oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokine, liver enzyme and blood lipid were inspected after five weeks treatment, the pathological changes of liver tissue were also observed in the transmission electron microscope. RESULTS:Compared with Norm group, the microstructure of liver cells was severely injured, and the serum levels of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase(ALT),glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (AST) were significantly higher in CIH group (P<0.05); the serum level of 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG) and interleukin-6(IL-6) was significantly higher, the serum level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly lower. Compared with CIH group, the pathology of liver microstructure were significantly improved and the serum levels of ALT, AST were significantly lower in H2+CIH group (P<0.05); the serum levels of 8-OHdG and IL-6 were significantly lower, the serum level of SOD was significantly higher. Compared with Norm group, the serum level of IL-1 was higher, the serum level of TC, TG, and low density lipoprotein(LDL) were lower, but there was no statistical difference with those in CIH group. There was no statistical difference in the serum level of high density lipoprotein (HDL)among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS:Pre-treatment with hydrogen could improve the liver injury caused by chronic intermittent hypoxia, and reducing oxidative stress level for protecting the liver cells damage.