How Hydrogen Gas Controls Genes by Blocking Harmful Cell Reactions
- Authors
- Katsuya Iuchi, Akemi Imoto, Naomi Kamimura, Kiyomi Nishimaki, Harumi Ichimiya, Takashi Yokota, Shigeo Ohta
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.1038/srep18971
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Oxidative Stress Disorders
- Body System
- Cellular
TL;DR
Hydrogen gas (H2) can act as an antioxidant, potentially influencing gene activity by affecting calcium signals in cells through its interaction with fats.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen suppresses free radical chain reactions that generate oxidized phospholipids, which then restores normal calcium signaling and allows cells to regulate gene expression properly.
Summary
Researchers studied how molecular hydrogen (H2) gas affects cells at a molecular level. They found that H2 gas prevents the breakdown of fats in cells that normally occurs through chemical chain reactions, which in turn affects calcium signaling—a key process that controls which genes are turned on or off. This suggests H2 may influence gene expression through a specific chemical pathway rather than simply acting as a general antioxidant.
Practical Takeaway
This cell-culture study identifies a potential mechanism for how hydrogen water might work at the cellular level, but it does not test hydrogen water in living organisms or humans. The findings are early-stage laboratory evidence and would need to be confirmed in animal and human studies before any health claims can be made.
Abstract
We previously showed that H2 acts as a novel antioxidant to protect cells against oxidative stress. Subsequently, numerous studies have indicated the potential applications of H2 in therapeutic and preventive medicine. Moreover, H2 regulates various signal transduction pathways and the expression of many genes. However, the primary targets of H2 in the signal transduction pathways are unknown. Here, we attempted to determine how H2 regulates gene expression. In a pure chemical system, H2 gas (approximately 1%, v/v) suppressed the autoxidation of linoleic acid that proceeds by a free radical chain reaction, and pure 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PAPC), one of the major phospholipids, was autoxidized in the presence or absence of H2. H2 modified the chemical production of the autoxidized phospholipid species in the cell-free system. Exposure of cultured cells to the H2-dependently autoxidized phospholipid species reduced Ca(2+) signal transduction and mediated the expression of various genes as revealed by comprehensive microarray analysis. In the cultured cells, H2 suppressed free radical chain reaction-dependent peroxidation and recovered the increased cellular Ca(2+), resulting in the regulation of Ca(2+)-dependent gene expression. Thus, H2 might regulate gene expression via the Ca(2+) signal transduction pathway by modifying the free radical-dependent generation of oxidized phospholipid mediators.