Hydrogen Solution Protects Intestines During Transplant Surgery in Rats
- Authors
- Takanobu Shigeta, Seisuke Sakamoto, Xiao-Kang Li, Songjie Cai, Chi Liu, Ryosuke Kurokawa, Atsuko Nakazawa, Mureo Kasahara, Shinji Uemoto
- Journal
- Transplantation
- Year
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.1097/TP.0000000000000510
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
- Body System
- Gastrointestinal
TL;DR
Injecting a hydrogen-rich solution into the intestine during surgery helps protect it from damage caused by temporarily cutting off and then restoring its blood supply.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich saline solution injected into the intestine significantly reduced oxidative stress markers, inflammatory chemicals, and cell death in rat intestines after blood flow was restored, while better preserving intestinal tissue structure compared to standard salt water.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-rich salt water could protect rat intestines from damage caused by temporarily cutting off blood supply and then restoring it—a common problem in bowel transplants. They injected the hydrogen solution directly into the intestine before restoring blood flow and found it reduced harmful molecules (oxidative stress markers), decreased inflammatory chemicals, prevented cell death in the intestinal lining, and preserved the structure of the intestinal tissue better than salt water alone.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage research in rats only, not humans, and focuses on a specialized medical application (bowel transplant preservation) rather than drinking hydrogen water for general health. While the results suggest hydrogen may have protective effects against certain types of tissue damage, much more research—including human studies—would be needed before any health claims could be made.
Abstract
Luminal preservation of the intestine is an attractive method to locally mitigate preservation injury and ischemic-reperfusion injury in small bowel transplantation (SBT) because this method has a potential to maintain the intestinal graft integrity. Hydrogen is noted as an antioxidant material by reducing hydroxyl radicals. We hypothesized that hydrogen-containing solution can be an optimum material for luminal preservation method in SBT. Ischemic reperfusion was induced in Lewis rats by occlusion of the supramesenteric artery and vein for 90 min. Experimental protocols were divided into four groups: sham operation group, no luminal injection (control) group, luminal injection of 5% glucose saline (GS) solution group, and luminal injection of hydrogen-rich GS (HRGS) group. Two milliliters of experimental solution was locally injected into the lumen of the intestine before declamping of vessels. Oxidative stress markers, proinflammatory cytokines, apoptosis in the crypt cells, and morphologic changes of the intestine were assessed. The production of malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, as oxidative stress markers, were markedly suppressed in HRGS group. The level of proinflammatory cytokines, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase and interleukin-6, was significantly inhibited in HRGS group. Crypt apoptosis was also significantly suppressed in HRGS group. Histopathologically, integrity of villus in intestine was maintained in HRGS group in comparison to the other groups. Luminal injection of hydrogen-rich solution can reduce oxidative stress and consequently ameliorate ischemic-reperfusion injury. Hydrogen-containing solution can be a novel and promising luminal preservation material in SBT.