Protective Effects of Hydrogen against Low-Dose Long-Term Radiation-Induced Damage to the Behavioral Performances, Hematopoietic System, Genital System, and Splenic Lymphocytes in Mice

Abstract

Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been previously reported playing an important role in ameliorating damage caused by acute radiation. In this study, we investigated the effects of H2 on the alterations induced by low-dose long-term radiation (LDLTR). All the mice in hydrogen-treated or radiation-only groups received 0.1 Gy, 0.5 Gy, 1.0 Gy, and 2.0 Gy whole-body gamma radiation, respectively. After the last time of radiation exposure, all the mice were employed for the determination of the body mass (BM) observation, forced swim test (FST), the open field test (OFT), the chromosome aberration (CA), the peripheral blood cells parameters analysis, the sperm abnormality (SA), the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT), and the histopathological studies. And significant differences between the treatment group and the radiation-only groups were observed, showing that H2 could diminish the detriment induced by LDLTR and suggesting the protective efficacy of H2 in multiple systems in mice against LDLTR.

Study details

Article type

Original Research

Disease / injury model

Low-dose long-term radiation injury

Duration

8 weeks

Dose comparison

Four different radiation doses (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 Gy) were compared, and hydrogen's protective effects were evaluated at each dose.

Dose-dependent effect

Yes

Outcome

Positive

Findings

Hydrogen-rich water administration provided significant protection against low-dose long-term radiation-induced damage in mice, improving behavioral performance, reducing chromosomal aberrations, ameliorating hematopoietic and reproductive system injuries, and enhancing splenic lymphocyte viability.