Hydrogen Gas Reduces Blood Pressure and Lung Inflammation in Rats
- Authors
- Tatyana Kuropatkina, Dmitrii Atiakshin, Fedor Sychev, Marina Artemieva, Tatyana Samoilenko, Olga Gerasimova, Viktoriya Shishkina, Khaydar Gufranov, Natalia Medvedeva, Tyler W. LeBaron, Oleg Medvedev
- Journal
- Biomedicines
- Year
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.3390/biomedicines11123141
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Russia
- Health Condition
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas didn't cure rat lung disease but did lower blood pressure and reduce some signs of inflammation.
Key Finding
Hydrogen inhalation reduced systemic blood pressure and inflammatory markers in rats with experimentally induced pulmonary hypertension, though it did not reverse the primary lung condition itself.
Summary
Researchers gave rats a substance that causes lung high blood pressure, then had some of them breathe air mixed with 4% hydrogen gas for 21 days. While the hydrogen didn't fix the main lung problem, it did lower the rats' overall blood pressure and reduced markers of inflammation (including immune cells called mast cells and a protein called TGF-β) in their bodies.
Practical Takeaway
This early animal study suggests hydrogen gas may have anti-inflammatory effects that could help with blood pressure and immune responses related to lung disease, but these results are from rats only and much more research—including human studies—would be needed before drawing any conclusions about hydrogen's usefulness for people with pulmonary hypertension.
Abstract
Hydrogen has been shown to exhibit selective antioxidant properties against hydroxyl radicals, and exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The monocrotaline-induced model of pulmonary hypertension is suitable for studying substances with antioxidant activity because oxidative stress is induced by monocrotaline. On day 1, male Wistar rats were subcutaneously injected with a water-alcohol solution of monocrotaline or a control with an only water-alcohol solution. One group of monocrotaline-injected animals was placed in a plastic box that was constantly ventilated with atmospheric air containing 4% of molecular hydrogen, and the two groups of rats, injected with monocrotaline or vehicle, were placed in boxes ventilated with atmospheric air. After 21 days, hemodynamic parameters were measured under urethane narcosis. The results showed that, although hydrogen inhalation had no effect on the main markers of pulmonary hypertension induced by monocrotaline injection, there was a reduction in systemic blood pressure due to its systolic component, and a decrease in TGF-β expression, as well as a reduction in tryptase-containing mast cells.