Hydrogen Gas Improves Donor Lungs for Transplant Surgery

Authors
Journal
BMC Pulmonary Medicine
Year
DOI
10.1186/s12890-023-02504-6
Study Type
Rat
Outcome
Positive
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Country
China
Health Condition
End-Stage Lung Disease
Body System
Respiratory

TL;DR

Inflating donor lungs with a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen during cold storage can improve lung quality by protecting the energy-producing parts of cells.

Key Finding

In rat donor lungs, inflation with hydrogen gas during cold storage reduced mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress more effectively than standard oxygen inflation, potentially through activation of cellular protective pathways.

Summary

This rat study tested whether inflating donor lungs with a mixture containing hydrogen gas during cold storage (a critical phase before transplantation) could protect the lungs from damage. Researchers compared lungs inflated with hydrogen plus oxygen to lungs inflated with oxygen alone. They found that hydrogen inflation reduced inflammation, oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules), and damage to mitochondria (the energy-producing structures in cells), and it activated protective cellular pathways better than oxygen alone.

Practical Takeaway

This is early-stage research in rats showing that hydrogen gas may help preserve donor lungs during transplantation. However, this is far from human application—the study was conducted in animals, and it focused on a specialized medical procedure (organ preservation) rather than hydrogen water consumption. Much more research would be needed to determine if these findings apply to humans or to other uses of hydrogen.

Abstract

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction results in poor organ quality, negatively affecting the outcomes of lung transplantation. Whether hydrogen benefits mitochondrial function in cold-preserved donors remain unclear. The present study assessed the effect of hydrogen on mitochondrial dysfunction in donor lung injury during cold ischemia phase (CIP) and explored the underlying regulatory mechanism. Methods: Left donor lungs were inflated using 40% oxygen + 60% nitrogen (O group), or 3% hydrogen + 40% oxygen + 57% nitrogen (H group). Donor lungs were deflated in the control group and were harvested immediately after perfusion in the sham group (n = 10). Inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, histological changes, mitochondrial energy metabolism, and mitochondrial structure and function were assessed. The expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were also analyzed. Results: Compared with the sham group, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, histopathological changes, and mitochondrial damage were severe in the other three groups. However, these injury indexes were remarkably decreased in O and H groups, with increased Nrf2 and HO-1 levels, elevated mitochondrial biosynthesis, inhibition of anaerobic glycolysis and restored mitochondrial structure and function compared with the control group. Moreover, inflation using hydrogen contributed to stronger protection against mitochondrial dysfunction and higher levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 when comparing with O group. Conclusions: Lung inflation using hydrogen during CIP may improve donor lung quality by mitigating mitochondrial structural anomalies, enhancing mitochondrial function, and alleviating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, which may be achieved through activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.