Hydrogen Water May Fight Cancer by Shortening Cancer Cell Lifespans
- Authors
- Sanetaka Shirahata, En Murakami, Ken-Ichi Kusumoto, Makiko Yamashita, Masaaki Oda, Kiichiro Temya, Shigeru Kabayama, Kazumichi Otsubo, Shinkatsu Morisawa, Hidemitsu Hayashi, Yoshinori Katakura
- Journal
- Animal Cell Technology: Challenges for the 21st Century
- Year
- 2002
- DOI
- 10.1007/0-306-46869-7_62
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Lung Adenocarcinoma
- Body System
- Cellular
TL;DR
Water that has been electrically reduced (ERW) can slow down the growth of certain cancer cells and cause them to change shape without affecting normal cells, possibly by interfering with how they maintain their telomeres, which are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes.
Key Finding
Electrolyzed-reduced water slowed the growth of lung and uterine cancer cells in laboratory cultures and shortened their telomeres by reducing the activity of telomere-binding proteins, while normal fibroblast cells were largely spared.
Summary
Researchers grew cancer cells and normal cells in electrolyzed-reduced water (ERW), a type of water produced during electrolysis that contains hydrogen and may reduce harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species). They found that cancer cells grew more slowly and changed shape in this water, while normal cells were largely unaffected. The cancer cells' telomeres (protective caps on chromosomes) became shorter in ERW, apparently because proteins that normally help telomerase (an enzyme that lengthens telomeres) attach to telomeres were less active.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early laboratory study in cell cultures only—not in animals or humans—so it cannot yet inform real-world use. The findings suggest a potential mechanism by which hydrogen-rich water might affect cancer cells, but many steps of testing would be needed before any clinical application could be considered. Anyone with cancer should consult their oncologist rather than relying on hydrogen water as a treatment.
Abstract
Electroly-reduced water (ERW) which is produced near cathode during electrolysis of water scavenges reactive oxygen species and protects DNA from oxidative damage (Shirahata et al., 1997). Most of cancer cells exhibit high telomerase activity to elongate telomere length, insuring their immortality. Here we found that cultivation of human lung adenocarciomaA549, human uterine cancer HeLaand human normal fibroblast TIG-1 cells were growth inhibited in medium containing ERW and drastic morphological changes occurred in A549 and HeLa cancer cells but not in TIG-1 cells. Telomerase activity did not change but telomere length became shorter depending upon cell division in medium containing ERW. Telomere binding activities of telomere binding proteins in cancer cells decreased in medium containing ERW, suggesting that ERW inhibit the binding of’ telomerase to telomere region via telomere binding proteins, resulting in the shortening of telomerelength.