Radioprotective effect of hydrogen in cultured cells and mice

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that hydrogen can selectively reduce hydroxyl and peroxynitrite in vitro. Since most of the ionizing radiation-induced cellular damage is caused by hydroxyl radicals, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that hydrogen may be an effective radioprotective agent. This paper demonstrates that treating cells with hydrogen before irradiation could significantly inhibit ionizing irradiation(IR)-induced Human Lymphocyte AHH-1 cells apoptosis and increase cells viability in vitro. This paper also shows that hydrogen can protect gastrointestinal endothelia from radiation-induced injury, decrease plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) intestinal 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHDG) levels and increase plasma endogenous antioxidants in vivo. It is suggested that hydrogen has a potential as an effective and safe radioprotective agent.

Keywords::

• Ionizing radiation
• radioprotection
• intestinal
• hydrogen

Declaration of interest: This study was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30770503; No. 30500579). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

This paper was first published online on Early Online on 16 December 2009.