Hydrogen gas production is associated with reduced interleukin-1β mRNA in peripheral blood after a single dose of acarbose in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients

First-principles study of molecular hydrogen binding to heme in competition with O2, NO and CO

Molecular hydrogen shows antioxidant activity and distinct efficacy towards vascular diseases, but the understanding of this is not yet satisfactory at the atomic level. In this work, we study the binding properties of H2 to the heme group in relation with other diatomic molecules (DMs), including O2, NO and CO, and their displacement reactions, using first-principles calculations. We carry out molecular modeling of the heme group, using iron-porphyrin with the imidazole ligand, i.e., FePIm, and smaller models of Fe(CnHn+2N2)2NH3 with n = 3 and 1, and of molecular complexes of heme-DM and -H. Through analysis of optimized geometries and energetics, it is found that the order of binding strength of DMs or H to the Fe of heme is NO > O2 > CO > H > H2 for FePIm-based systems, while it is H > O2 > NO > CO > H2 for model-based systems. We calculate the activation energies for displacement reactions of H2 and H by other DMs, revealing that the H2 displacements occur spontaneously while the H displacements require a large amount of energy. Finally, our calculations corroborate that the rate constants increase with increasing temperature according to the Arrhenius relation.

Hydrogen-Rich Water Ameliorates Metabolic Disorder via Modifying Gut Microbiota in Impaired Fasting Glucose Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study

OBJECTIVE

Molecular hydrogen (H₂) exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects, and has shown benefits in glucose and lipid metabolism in certain animal metabolic disorder models. However, the potential benefits of H₂ treatment in individuals with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) has seldom been studied. This randomized controlled study (RCT) aims to investigate the effects of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) on IFG subjects and explore the underlying mechanism involved.

METHODS

Seventy-three patients with IFG were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. These patients were assigned to receive either 1000 mL per day of HRW or placebo pure water (no H₂ infusion) for a duration of eight weeks. Metabolic parameters and fecal gut microbiota were assessed at baseline (week 0) and at week 8. A combined analysis of metabolomics and intestinal microbiota was conducted to investigate the correlation between the effect of H₂ on the metabolisms and the diversity of intestinal flora in the IGF patients.

RESULTS

Both pure water and HRW demonstrated a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose in IFG patients, with a significant difference between pure water and HRW after eight weeks. Among IFG patients with abnormal pre-experimental fatty liver, 62.5% (10/16) in the HRW group and 31.6% (6/19) in the pure water group achieved remission. Furthermore, 16S RNA analysis revealed HRW-modified gut microbiota dysbiosis in the fecal samples of IGF patients. Through Pearson correlation analysis, the differential gut microbiota obtained by 16S analysis was found to be highly correlated with nine metabolites.

CONCLUSION

H₂ slightly improved metabolic abnormalities and gut microbiota dysbiosis, providing a novel target and theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of blood glucose regulation in patients with IFG.

Antioxidation activity of molecular hydrogen via protoheme catalysis in vivo: an insight from ab initio calculations

Recently, molecular hydrogen has been found to exhibit antioxidation activity through many clinical experiments, but the mechanism has not been fully understandable at atomic level. In this work, we perform systematic ab initio calculations of protoheme-hydrogen complexes to clarify the antioxidation mechanism of molecular hydrogen. We make molecular modeling of iron-protoporphyrin coordinated by imidazole, FeP(Im), and its hydrogen as well as dihydrogen complexes, together with reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (RONS). We carry out structural optimization and Mulliken charge analysis, revealing the two kinds of bonding characteristics between FeP(Im) and H[Formula: see text]: dihydrogen bonding in the end-on asymmetric configuration and Kubas bonding in the side-on symmetric configuration of H[Formula: see text] molecule. The activation barriers for adsorption and dissociation of H[Formula: see text] on and further desorption of H atom from FeP(Im) are found to be below 2.78 eV at most, which is remarkably lower than the H-H bond breaking energy of 4.64 eV in free H[Formula: see text] molecule. We find that the hydrogen bond dissociation energies of FeP(Im)-H[Formula: see text] and -H complexes are lower than those of RONS-H complexes, indicating the decisive role of protoheme as an effective catalyst in RONS antioxidation by molecular hydrogen in vivo.

Role of Molecular Hydrogen in Ageing and Ageing-Related Diseases

Ageing is a physiological process of progressive decline in the organism function over time. It affects every organ in the body and is a significant risk for chronic diseases. Molecular hydrogen has therapeutic and preventive effects on various organs. It has antioxidative properties as it directly neutralizes hydroxyl radicals and reduces peroxynitrite level. It also activates Nrf2 and HO-1, which regulate many antioxidant enzymes and proteasomes. Through its antioxidative effect, hydrogen maintains genomic stability, mitigates cellular senescence, and takes part in histone modification, telomere maintenance, and proteostasis. In addition, hydrogen may prevent inflammation and regulate the nutrient-sensing mTOR system, autophagy, apoptosis, and mitochondria, which are all factors related to ageing. Hydrogen can also be used for prevention and treatment of various ageing-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, and cancer. This paper reviews the basic research and recent application of hydrogen in order to support hydrogen use in medicine for ageing prevention and ageing-related disease therapy.

S100 Genes are Highly Expressed in Peripheral Leukocytes of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Treated with Dietary Therapy

Background and Objectives

We demonstrated that the mRNA induction of S100s in rat peripheral leukocytes by severe hyperglycemia was reduced by inhibiting postprandial hyperglycemia. Here, we compared inflammatory gene expression in peripheral leukocytes between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients undergoing dietary therapy alone and healthy volunteers, and between T2DM patients undergoing dietary therapy alone and those undergoing such therapy in combination with drug therapy using the α-glucosidase inhibitor miglitol.

Methods

T2DM patients who had undertaken dietary therapy alone or in combination with drug therapy using miglitol for ≥ 8 weeks and healthy volunteers were subjected to a meal tolerance test and glucose concentration, neutrophil elastase concentration, and mRNA expression analyses of peripheral leukocytes by microarray and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) immediately before and 180 min after a meal.

Results

Blood glucose concentrations 60 min after a meal were lower in T2DM patients with dietary + miglitol therapy than in those with dietary therapy alone. Neutrophil elastase concentrations at 60 and 120 min after a meal were lower in T2DM patients with dietary + miglitol therapy than in those with dietary therapy alone. Expression levels of S100A8 in a fasting state and S100A6, S100A8, and S100A9 180 min after a meal were higher in T2DM patients with dietary therapy alone than in healthy volunteers. Expression levels of S100A12 in a fasting state and 180 min after a meal were higher in T2DM patients with dietary therapy alone than in T2DM patients with dietary + miglitol therapy.

Conclusions

S100 genes were more highly expressed in T2DM patients with dietary therapy than in healthy volunteers.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40268-020-00334-z.

The condition of the hairline of Chinchilla lanigera after the introduction of a hydrogen antioxidant into the diet

It was found that the inclusion of water enriched with molecular hydrogen into the diet of a long-tailed chinchilla changed the fur quality indicators. In animals of the experimental group, the guard and downy hairs were thinner than in the control group. The length of downy hair in the experimental group was higher, the number of hairs in the follicle in the chinchillas of the experimental group was greater than in the control group, besides, the hair was stronger and softer. The animals of the experimental group showed less tendency to gnaw out fur. When considering the data on the chemical composition, it was found that in the dry matter of the hair of the animals of the experimental group, there were less organic substances, and there were more minerals in comparison with the animals of the control group.

Acarbose Reduces Low-Grade Albuminuria Compared to Metformin in Chinese Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes

PURPOSE

To assess the effect of acarbose in lowering low-grade albuminuria compared to metformin in newly diagnosed Chinese type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The Metformin and AcaRbose Clinical Trial was a randomized, open-label trial in newly diagnosed T2DM patients. Participants received 48 weeks of monotherapy with acarbose (100 mg three times a day) or metformin (1500 mg once a day). As the hypoglycemic effect of acarbose and metformin has been evaluated in previous reports. This analysis studied the effect of the two antidiabetic drugs on reducing urinary albumin. The percent change in the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (uACR) from baseline to week 48 was analyzed, and ANCOVA was employed to establish whether the effect in decreasing uACR was mediated by metabolic improvement.

RESULTS

Acarbose reduced the adjusted mean percent uACR by -31.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] -48.4 to -7.5) compared with metformin. When adjusting for changes in glycated hemoglobin, body weight, systolic blood pressure and triglycerides or changes in area under the curve of glucagon-like peptide 1 (AUCGLP-1) in the standard meal test, the uACR-lowering effect was not attenuated. If stratified by eGFR, blood glucose level, sex or uACR level, the effect of acarbose versus metformin was consistent across subgroups. The proportion of patients with a reduction in uACR of at least 70% was 48.6% in the acarbose group and 34.1% in the metformin group.

CONCLUSION

Acarbose lowered the uACR compared to metformin in newly diagnosed T2DM patients independent of improvements in hyperglycemia, blood pressure, body weight and triglycerides.

Influence of molecular hydrogen on behavioral adaptation of Сhinchilla lanigera taking into account gender factor in conditions of cage keeping

It was found that the inclusion of water enriched with molecular hydrogen in the diet of animals increased the overall proportion of active behavior. According to the form of behavior "moving around the cage", it was found that males and females of the experimental group spent more time than animals of the control group. Males of the experimental group were 24% more active at night, and females were 60% more active than in the control group. In the daily dynamics, the period of activity of animals in the experimental group was from 19:00 to 8:00, and in the control group-from 22:00 to 8:00. In the daily balance according to the form of behavior "moving around the cage", chinchillas of the experimental group spent 5% more than in the control group.

Hydrogen: A Novel Option in Human Disease Treatment

H₂ has shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ability in many clinical trials, and its application is recommended in the latest Chinese novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) treatment guidelines. Clinical experiments have revealed the surprising finding that H₂ gas may protect the lungs and extrapulmonary organs from pathological stimuli in NCP patients. The potential mechanisms underlying the action of H₂ gas are not clear. H₂ gas may regulate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, mitochondrial energy metabolism, endoplasmic reticulum stress, the immune system, and cell death (apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and circadian clock, among others) and has therapeutic potential for many systemic diseases. This paper reviews the basic research and the latest clinical applications of H₂ gas in multiorgan system diseases to establish strategies for the clinical treatment for various diseases.

Phytic acid disrupted intestinal immune status and suppressed growth performance in on-growing grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Phytic acid (PA) is one of the most common anti-nutritional factors in plant-derived protein feeds, and it poses considerable threats to aquaculture production. However, little is known about the effects of PA on fish intestinal health. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of PA on intestinal immune function in on-growing grass carp. To achieve this goal, a growth trial was conducted for 60 days by feeding 540 fish (120.56 ± 0.51 g) with six semi-purified diets containing graded levels of PA (0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2 and 4.0%). Then fish were challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila for 6 days. The results indicated that, compared with the control group (0% PA), PA did the following: (1) suppressed fish growth performance (percentage weight gain and feed efficiency) and reduced their ability to resist enteritis; (2) decreased fish intestinal antimicrobial ability by reducing intestinal lysozyme (LZ) activities, the contents of complement 3 (C3), C4 and immunoglobulin M (IgM), and downregulating the mRNA levels of hepcidin, liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2A (LEAP-2A), LEAP-2B, and β-defensin-1; and (3) aggravated fish intestinal inflammation responses by upregulating the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) (except in the DI), interferon γ2 (IFN-γ2), IL-8, IL-12p40, IL-15 (except in the DI) and IL-17D, which is partly related to the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signalling pathway, whereas downregulating the mRNA levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines including transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), IL-4/13A, IL-4/13B, IL-10 and IL-11, which is partially associated with the target of rapamycin (TOR) signalling pathway. The possible reasons for some distinctive gene expression patterns in fish three intestinal segments were discussed. Finally, based on the percent weight gain, enteritis morbidity, IgM content and LZ activity in the PI, the maximum tolerance levels of PA for on-growing grass carp were estimated to be 2.17, 1.68, 1.47 and 1.18% of the diet, respectively.

A New Approach for the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disorders. Molecular Hydrogen Significantly Reduces the Effects of Oxidative Stress

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Redox dysregulation and a dyshomeostasis of inflammation arise from, and result in, cellular aberrations and pathological conditions, which lead to cardiovascular diseases. Despite years of intensive research, there is still no safe and effective method for their prevention and treatment. Recently, molecular hydrogen has been investigated in preclinical and clinical studies on various diseases associated with oxidative and inflammatory stress such as radiation-induced heart disease, ischemia-reperfusion injury, myocardial and brain infarction, storage of the heart, heart transplantation, etc. Hydrogen is primarily administered via inhalation, drinking hydrogen-rich water, or injection of hydrogen-rich saline. It favorably modulates signal transduction and gene expression resulting in suppression of proinflammatory cytokines, excess ROS production, and in the activation of the Nrf2 antioxidant transcription factor. Although H2 appears to be an important biological molecule with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects, the exact mechanisms of action remain elusive. There is no reported clinical toxicity; however, some data suggests that H2 has a mild hormetic-like effect, which likely mediate some of its benefits. The mechanistic data, coupled with the pre-clinical and clinical studies, suggest that H2 may be useful for ROS/inflammation-induced cardiotoxicity and other conditions.

Hydrogen gas alleviates oxygen toxicity by reducing hydroxyl radical levels in PC12 cells

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy through breathing oxygen at the pressure of above 1 atmosphere absolute (ATA) is useful for varieties of clinical conditions, especially hypoxic-ischemic diseases. Because of generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), breathing oxygen gas at high pressures can cause oxygen toxicity in the central nervous system, leading to multiple neurological dysfunction, which limits the use of HBO therapy. Studies have shown that Hydrogen gas (H₂) can diminish oxidative stress and effectively reduce active ROS associated with diseases. However, the effect of H₂ on ROS generated from HBO therapy remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of H₂ on ROS during HBO therapy using PC12 cells. PC12 cells cultured in medium were exposed to oxygen gas or mixed oxygen gas and H₂ at 1 ATA or 5 ATA. Cells viability and oxidation products and ROS were determined. The data showed that H₂ promoted the cell viability and inhibited the damage in the cell and mitochondria membrane, reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation and DNA oxidation, and selectively decreased the levels of •OH but not disturbing the levels of O₂^•-, H₂O₂, or NO• in PC12 cells during HBO therapy. These results indicated that H₂ effectively reduced •OH, protected cells against oxygen toxicity resulting from HBO therapy, and had no effect on other ROS. Our data supported that H₂ could be potentially used as an antioxidant during HBO therapy.