Hydrogen Gas Protects Lung Transplants by Boosting Cellular Energy
- Authors
- Yugo Tanaka, Norihisa Shigemura, Tomohiro Kawamura, Kentaro Noda, Kumiko Isse, Donna Beer Stolz, Timothy R. Billiar, Yoshiya Toyoda, Christian A. Bermudez, James Lyons-Weiler, Atsunori Nakao
- Journal
- Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.08.005
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- United States
- Health Condition
- Lung Transplant Recipients
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas helps protect donated lungs from damage during transplant by changing the activity of certain protective genes.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas treatment of donor lungs before transplantation activated 229 genes, including those involved in lung surfactant production, cellular energy (ATP) generation, and stress-response proteins like HSP70, which may protect grafts from transplant-related injury.
Summary
Researchers exposed donor rat lungs to hydrogen gas before transplantation to understand how hydrogen protects organs from damage during the transplant process. They analyzed which genes were turned on or off in the hydrogen-treated lungs and found that hydrogen activated genes related to lung surfactant (a substance that helps lungs function), energy production, and stress protection. These molecular changes appeared to help the lungs survive the cold storage and transplant procedure better.
Practical Takeaway
This is a laboratory study in rats examining the molecular mechanisms of hydrogen's protective effects on transplanted lungs—not a study of hydrogen water for human health. While the findings suggest hydrogen may help preserve organ function during transplantation, this research does not provide evidence about hydrogen water's effects on healthy individuals or disease prevention.
Abstract
We previously demonstrated that donor treatment with inhaled hydrogen protects lung grafts from cold ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury during lung transplantation. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying hydrogen's protective effects, we conducted a gene array analysis to identify changes in gene expression associated with hydrogen treatment. Donor rats were exposed to mechanical ventilation with 98% oxygen and 2% nitrogen or 2% hydrogen for 3h before harvest; lung grafts were stored for 4h in cold Perfadex. Affymetrix gene array analysis of mRNA transcripts was performed on the lung tissue prior to implantation. Pretreatment of donor lungs with hydrogen altered the expression of 229 genes represented on the array (182 upregulated; 47 downregulated). Hydrogen treatment induced several lung surfactant-related genes, ATP synthase genes and stress-response genes. The intracellular surfactant pool, tissue adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression increased in the hydrogen-treated grafts. Hydrogen treatment also induced the transcription factors C/EBPα and C/EBPβ, which are known regulators of surfactant-related genes. Donor ventilation with hydrogen significantly increases expression of surfactant-related molecules, ATP synthases and stress-response molecules in lung grafts. The induction of these molecules may underlie hydrogen's protective effects against I/R injury during transplantation.