Different effects of hydrogen-rich water intake and hydrogen gas inhalation on gut microbiome and plasma metabolites of rats in health status.

The potential for preventive and therapeutic applications of H2 have now been confirmed in various disease. However, the effects of H2 on health status have not been fully elucidated. Our previous study reported changes in the body weight and 13 serum biochemical parameters during the six-month hydrogen intervention. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of long-term hydrogen consumption, the plasma metabolome and gut microbiota were investigated in this study. Compared with the control group, 14 and 10 differential metabolites (DMs) were identified in hydrogen-rich water (HRW) and hydrogen inhalation (HI) group, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that HRW intake mainly affected starch and sucrose metabolism, and DMs in HI group were mainly enriched in arginine biosynthesis. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that HRW intake induced significant changes in the structure of gut microbiota, while no marked bacterial community differences was observed in HI group. HRW intake mainly induced significant increase in the abundance of Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Clostridium XI, and decrease in Bacteroides. HI mainly induced decreased abundances of Blautia and Paraprevotella. The metabolic function was determined by metabolic cage analysis and showed that HI decreased the voluntary intake and excretions of rats, while HRW intake did not. The results of this study provide basic data for further research on hydrogen medicine. Determination of the effects of hydrogen intervention on microbiota profiles could also shed light on identification of mechanism underlying the biological effects of molecular hydrogen.

Protective effects of molecular hydrogen on hepatotoxicity induced by sub-chronic exposure to chlorpyrifos in rats.

INTRODUCTION: Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a organophosphate insecticide widely used in agriculture with attendant adverse health outcomes. Chronic exposure to CPF induces oxidative stress and elicits harmful effects, including hepatic dysfunction. Molecular hydrogen has been identified as a novel antioxidant which could selectively scavenge hydroxyl radicals. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether the intake of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) could protect rats from hepatotoxicity caused by sub-chronic exposure to CPF. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Rats were treated with hydrogen-rich water by oral intake for 8 weeks. Biochemical indicators of liver function, SOD and CAT activity, GSH and MDA levels were determined by the spectrophotometric method. Liver cell damage induced by CPF was evaluated by histopathological and electron microscopy analysis. PCR array analysis was performed to investigated the effects of molecular hydrogen on the regulation of oxidative stress related genes. RESULTS: Both the hepatic function tests and histopathological analysis showed that the liver damage induced by CPF could be ameliorated by HRW intake. HRW intake also attenuated CPF induced oxidative stress, as evidenced by restored SOD activities and MDA levels. The results of PCR Array identified 12 oxidative stress-related genes differentially expressed after CPF exposure, 8 of chich, including the mitochondrial Sod2 gene, were significantly attenuated by HRW intake. The electron microscopy results indicated that the mitochondrial damage caused by CPF was alleviated after HRW treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained suggest that HRW intake can protect rats from CPF induced hepatotoxicity, and the oxidative stress signaling and the mitochondrial pathway may be involved in the protection of molecular hydrogen.

Effects of long-term hydrogen intervention on the physiological function of rats.

The potential therapeutic effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) have now been confirmed in various human and animal-disease models. However, the effects of H2 on the physiological function in a normal state have been largely neglected. Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) intake and hydrogen inhalation (HI) are the most common used methods for hydrogen administration, the difference in the effects between HRW intake and HI remains elusive. In the present study, the body weight and 13 serum biochemical parameters were monitored during the six-month hydrogen intervention, all these parameters were significantly altered by oral intake of HRW or HI. Among the 13 parameters, the most striking alterations induced by hydrogen treatment were observed in serum myocardial enzymes spectrum. The results also showed that the changes in these parameters occurred at different time points, and the alterations in most of the parameters were much more significant in HI than HRW. The results of this study provides the basic data for the mechanism research and application of molecular hydrogen in the future.

Recombinant DENV 2 NS5: An effective antigen for diagnosis of DENV infection.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease with dramatically increasing morbidity rate worldwide in decades. Since there is no specific treatment to date, early diagnosis is important for providing proper timely medical care to minimize mortality, and for the prompt initiation of public health control measures. NS5 is a potential biomarker for dengue virus infection due to its highly conserved and immunogenic properties. In this study, the DENV 2 NS5 full-length and the DENV 2 NS5 C-terminus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domain fragment (NS5-C70) expression plasmids were constructed, and the 104 kDa full-length NS5 and the 70 kDa NS5-C70 were respectively expressed in Escherichia coli. These two purified recombinant products were found to react with the sera of patients infected with dengue virus when analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which resulted in significantly higher absorption values than those of control sera. The recombinant DENV 2 NS5 exhibited strong reactivity to each of the four types of sera, whereas the NS5-C70 showed strong reactivity only to DENV 2 and 4. In comparison, the positive agreement value of recombinant NS5-based assay with either MyBioSource or Panbio assay was higher than that of the two commercially available IgG indirect ELISA kits. These results suggest that the recombinant DENV 2 NS5 be an effective antigen for detection of dengue virus infection. The recombinant NS5-C70 may also be used as an auxiliary antigen for diagnostic purposes.