Molecular Hydrogen for Medicine by Yuh Fukai

Author:Yuh Fukai
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811571572
Publisher: Springer Singapore

Fig. 4.9Effects of H2-inhalation on Nrf2-dependent genes: Comparison of wild mice and Nrf2-deficient mice. (a) NQO1, (b) GSTA2 and (c) HO-1 concentrations after 60 h of study period. Nrf2+/+ wild mice; Nrf2−/− Nrf2-deficient mice. HPRT hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase. n = 4, *P < 0.01 (Kawamura et al. 2013)

In another experiments on rats, Zhai et al. (2013) found a clear correlation between hydrogen administration and the amount of activated Nrf2 in the nuclei of brains injured by ischemic reperfusion.

Nrf2 is also known to be involved in anti-inflammatory mechanisms. The production of large amounts of proteins that cause inflammation (i.e. cytokines) can exacerbate conditions such as auto-immune diseases, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases, which could be suppressed by the activation of Nrf2 (Kobayashi et al. 2016). As research into Nrf2 progresses, it is becoming clear that it exerts a far wider range of physiological effects than was initially thought. There is a growing awareness that Nrf2 has overall control over the genes for establishing a biological defense system via 12 kinds of transcription factors.

Certain types of molecules are known to activate Nrf2 through the detachment of Keap1, which makes one surmise that H2 molecules act in a similar way. H2 molecules may also act by pathways other than Nrf2, and the diversity of pathways is thought to be the origin of the diversity of their medical effects.

Clues as to the mechanism by which the Nrf2 defensive state is established have been obtained from recent research into the disease-preventing effects of H2 molecules. If H2 molecules are supplied to cultured human nerve cells under oxidative stress, mitochondria first become active, producing reactive oxygen species, which then act to stimulate the Nrf2 pathway (Murakami et al. 2017). It has been found that this process takes at least 3 h. The preventive effect of H2 molecules against Parkinson’s disease and sepsis in mice is thought to work via a similar mechanism. It has been suggested that H2 molecules send a signal of calcium ions to activate mitochondria in the cell (Iuchi et al. 2016).

Intensive research on the molecular level has been performed on H2 effects on oxidative stress, and numerous biomolecules acting along several reaction pathways have been identified. Knowledge acquired so far on this level has been surveyed by LeBaron et al. (2019).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.