Hydrogen Water with Platinum Kills Tongue Cancer Cells, Spares Healthy
- Authors
- Yasukazu Saitoh, Y. Yoshimura, K. Nakano, Nobuhiko Miwa
- Journal
- Experimental Oncology
- Year
- 2009
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Tongue Cancer
- Body System
- Oral
TL;DR
A combination of hydrogen-dissolved water and tiny platinum particles shows promise as a new treatment that selectively slows down the growth of tongue cancer cells without significantly affecting normal cells.
Key Finding
Hydrogen water supplemented with platinum nanoparticles inhibited the growth of human tongue cancer cells in laboratory tests while leaving normal oral cells largely unaffected.
Summary
Researchers tested a special water containing dissolved hydrogen and tiny platinum particles against tongue cancer cells grown in the laboratory. The combination of hydrogen water and platinum particles slowed the growth of cancer cells more effectively than either component alone, while having minimal effects on normal mouth cells. This suggests the two substances may work together to fight cancer cells.
Practical Takeaway
This is early laboratory research using cancer cells in a dish, not human studies, so it cannot yet support any health claims. While the selective effect on cancer cells over normal cells is noteworthy, much more research—including animal studies and eventually human trials—would be needed before this approach could be considered for any medical use. The findings are preliminary and should not be interpreted as evidence that such a product would be safe or effective in people.
Abstract
Hydrogen-dissolved water (HD-water) or platinum nanocolloid (Pt-nc) has been individually expected as a new therapeutic agent for oxidative stress-related diseases, whereas little is known about their combined effects on cancer, which were elucidated in the present study. HD-water was prepared by microporous gas bubbling, and supplemented with Pt-nc consisting of 0.003-1 ppm Pt and PVP polymers. Antioxidant activities were examined by 1, 1-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-radicalscavenging assay. Cytotoxic activities were examined by culturing of tumor and normal cell lines, respectively. HD-water accelerated the Pt-nc-based DPPH-radical scavenging. Pt-nc-supplemented HD-water inhibited either colony formation efficiencies or colony sizes of human tongue carcinoma cells HSC-4, in contrast to no effects of HD-water alone, Pt-nc alone or Pt-absent PVP, but not appreciably inhibit normal human tongue epithelial-like cells DOK. Pt-nc-supplemented HD-water also suppressed cell population growth of HSC-4 cells of near-confluence (at higher cell densities) in view of decreases in either cell numbers or mitochondrial function, although less markedly than colony formation starting from a sparse-cell state (at lower cell densities). Dissolved hydrogen, oxygen concentration or oxido-reduced potentials of HD-water was decreased, rather decreased or increased by Pt-nc addition, respectively. Anti-cancer activity of Pt-nc-supplemented HD-water was shown by its preferential cell-growth inhibition to human tongue carcinoma cells HSC-4 over normal human tongue cells DOK, and might be partly attributed to HD-water-caused enhancement of Pt-nc-relevant antioxidant ability. Pt-nc-supplemented HD-water is expected as a novel agent against human tongue cancers due to its cancer progression-repressive abilities.