Hydrogen Water Protects Heart from Radiation Damage in Animal Study
- Authors
- Branislav Kura, Barbora Kalocayova, Tyler W. LeBaron, Karel Frimmel, Jozef Buday, Juraj Surovy, Jan Slezak
- Journal
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
- Year
- 2019
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11010-019-03512-z
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Slovakia
- Health Condition
- Radiation-Induced Heart Disease
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Drinking water enriched with molecular hydrogen can help protect rat hearts from damage caused by radiation, possibly by influencing the levels of certain heart-related microRNAs.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water reduced radiation-induced heart damage in rats by regulating three specific microRNAs (miRNA-1, -15b, and -21) and lowering markers of oxidative stress and inflammation.
Summary
This rat study investigated how molecular hydrogen (a gas that can be dissolved in water) might protect heart tissue from radiation damage. Researchers found that when rats exposed to radiation drank hydrogen-rich water, it reduced harmful molecules and inflammation in the heart, and it also changed the activity of three specific microRNAs (tiny molecules that control gene expression) in ways that prevented heart damage like thickening and scarring.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study that identifies a potential mechanism for how hydrogen water might protect heart tissue from radiation. However, these findings are from rats only and have not been tested in humans, so it's too early to draw conclusions about whether hydrogen water would help people undergoing radiation therapy. More research, including human studies, would be needed to determine if this effect translates to clinical benefit.
Abstract
microRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a large class of post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. It has been estimated that miRNAs regulate up to 30% of the protein-coding genes in humans. They are implicated in many physiological and pathological processes, including those involved in radiation-induced heart damage. Biomedical studies indicate that molecular hydrogen has potential as a radioprotective agent due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and signal-modulating effects. However, the impact of molecular hydrogen on the expression of miRNAs in the heart after irradiation has not been investigated. This study aimed to explore the involvement of miRNA-1, -15b, and -21 in the protective action of molecular hydrogen on rat myocardium damaged by irradiation. The results showed that the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) increased in the rat myocardium after irradiation. Treatment with molecular hydrogen-rich water (HRW) reduced these values to the level of non-irradiated controls. miRNA-1 is known to be involved in cardiac hypertrophy, and was significantly decreased in the rat myocardium after irradiation. Application of HRW attenuated this decrease in all evaluated time periods. miRNA-15b is considered to be anti-fibrotic, anti-hypertrophic, and anti-oxidative. Irradiation downregulated miRNA-15b, whereas administration of HRW restored these values. miRNA-21 is connected with cardiac fibrosis. We observed significant increase in miRNA-21 expression in the irradiated rat hearts. Molecular hydrogen lowered myocardial miRNA-21 levels after irradiation. This study revealed for the first time that the protective effects of molecular hydrogen on irradiation-induced heart damage may be mediated by regulating miRNA-1, -15b, and -21.