Hydrogen Gas Reduces Fat Cell Damage and Shrinks Cell Size
- Authors
- Batkhishig Tumurbaatar, Shinji Ogawa, Nobuhisa Nakamura, Toshiyuki Yamada, Tomomi Minato, Yoshiharu Mori, Tomokazu Saiki, Tatsuaki Matsubara, Keiko Naruse, Hisao Suda
- Journal
- Nature Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-024-72626-2
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Atherosclerosis
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Hydrogen treatment may reduce stress in fat tissue and shrink fat cells, which could help prevent hardening of the arteries.
Key Finding
Fat tissue exposed to hydrogen-enriched water showed reduced markers of oxidative stress and smaller fat cells compared to untreated tissue.
Summary
Researchers studied how hydrogen gas affects fat tissue cells taken from heart surgery patients. When the fat tissue was exposed to hydrogen-enriched water, the cells showed signs of reduced oxidative stress (a type of cellular damage), smaller fat cells, and changes in the proteins the fat cells produce. The study suggests hydrogen may help protect fat tissue from damage that could contribute to heart disease.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early laboratory study using human fat tissue samples, not a test in living people. While the results are interesting, they are too preliminary to draw conclusions about whether hydrogen water would have these effects in the human body. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before any health claims could be made.
Abstract
Oxidative stress in adipose tissue may alter the secretion pattern of adipocytokines and potentially promote atherosclerosis. However, the therapeutic role of hydrogen in adipose tissue under oxidative stress remains unclear. In this study, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT) was collected from the mid-thoracic wounds of 12 patients who underwent open-heart surgery with a mid-thoracic incision. The adipose tissue was then immersed in a culture medium dissolved with hydrogen, which was generated using a hydrogen-generating device. The weight of the adipose tissue was measured before and after hydrogenation, and the tissue was immunostained for nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), which are markers of oxidative stress. The immunostaining results showed that HO-1 and Nrf2 expression levels were significantly decreased in the hydrogenated group, whereas SOD expression levels increased, but did not attain statistical significance. Image analysis of adipose tissue revealed that a reduction in adipocyte size. Furthermore, hydrogenated adipose tissue showed a trend toward increased gene expression levels of adiponectin and decreased gene expression levels of chemerin, an adipocytokine involved in adipogenesis. These results demonstrated the therapeutic potential of hydrogen gas for oxidative stress in adipose tissue and for reducing adipocyte size.